


Aftermath

by KuzAnn



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: X & Y | Pokemon X & Y Versions
Genre: Blood and Injury, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-28
Updated: 2015-03-27
Packaged: 2018-01-14 01:48:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 29,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1248190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KuzAnn/pseuds/KuzAnn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lysandre has survived the Geosenge event.  Living in one sense and dead in another, he and his Pokemon companions find themselves on an island to the northwest, a place where fairies bring terror and dark emotions gain a power all their own.  Back in Kalos, Professor Sycamore copes with his grief and failure to put a stop Lysandre, all while trying to support the champion who brought those plans to a halt.  And all the while, hidden behind a veil of status and prestige, those who would reshape the face of Kalos and the world with it move on to the next phase of their plan...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. White Lilies

The sun was setting the sky ablaze to the southeast, its fading rays painting the standing stones of Geosenge in brilliant orange as it bid farewell to the day. A gentle breeze blew from the sea cliffs to the south, its quiet presence a prelude to the cold of the coming night.

It had only been a matter of hours since the bewildering series of events concerning the ultimate weapon of legend had reached its thundering conclusion. The day had been won, Kalos was safe, Geosenge was left with a stark new feature to advertise in its guidebooks... And Professor Augustine Sycamore's friend was dead. As interesting a new feature as it might be to the people living here, to Sycamore the pit embodied the ultimate result of his complacency.

Despite the signs that something was wrong, despite his suspicions, Sycamore sat by and chose to let the matter resolve itself.  _Lysandre is an adult, he can figure this out,_  was what he'd told himself at the time.  _Excuses, excuses._  Clearly a massive mistake, one he felt plenty guilty for making. There wasn't even a proper grave to visit now...

Sycamore's fingers tightened around the bouquet of white lilies, brought with him all the way from Lumiose City. They'd survived the trip on the back of his charizard reasonably well considering the speed the Pokemon was travelling at, only to be cast into this massive pit of a grave to finally wither away on the boulders below. He removed the paper that the flowers were wrapped in, jammed it into his lab coat pocket, and threw the lilies into the pit.

The flowers fell in a cluster, one more ruffled blossom trailing a few petals as they made their descent. Sycamore could still see where they came to rest at the bottom, barely visible in the fading light. He paused in silence for a few moments of reflection as he stared down at the faraway cluster of lilies. Even now it didn't quite feel real, like this was all some awful prank and that Lysandre was alive to be annoyed about it somewhere. This new status quo would take some getting used to.

A sound eventually broke Sycamore's train of thought as it grew louder and louder: the crunch of boots on gravel. He turned to find that someone else had made the pit their destination, a woman with long pale blonde hair and a basket filled with white lilies on her arm. From what Sycamore could see at this distance, she wore a white dress of sorts with white leggings and boots to match. She reached the rim of the pit as Sycamore looked on, and with one smooth motion took the lilies from her basket and cast them into the dark abyss that lay before them. The woman paused at the rim after throwing the lilies in and watched them fall out of sight before turning to meet eyes with her onlooker.

Sycamore realized he was staring when she looked up at him, and he quickly glanced away in embarrassment; he hadn't meant anything rude by it, and was merely wondering who this newcomer might be to the people who died here. He glanced back to see what the woman's reaction was to his unintentional rudeness, and found that she was walking toward him. It seemed she had not taken offense, so Sycamore started forward as well to shorten the distance she would have to walk.

They met roughly halfway, but Sycamore was temporarily at a loss for words. What did you say to a person who had lost someone important? He ground the toe of his right shoe into the gravel as he dithered on the proper way to start the conversation, and felt relieved when the woman took up that duty for him.

"Who is it that you mourn, Professor?" the woman's voice was smooth with a moderate Kalosian accent, and clearly laden with sadness.

"A friend," Sycamore replied, looking up at her as he spoke. He stopped himself before he could say more on the matter, no need to pour out his troubles to the first stranger he met. "And you?" At this closer distance he could pick out the details of her clothing: a dress-like coat with hems that turned upward, like the petals of an overturned lily.

"My cousin," dull anger flitted briefly across her face as she spoke. "He has brought a great deal of shame to our family for what he has caused."

Sycamore was about to give her the typical, overused  _I'm sorry_  for lack of anything better to say when his mind did a double take on what she'd just told him.  _Caused?_  "Wait, so... Your cousin is Lysandre?"

"Oui, unfortunately. I have known Anatole since we were little," she sighed. "To think he would be capable of something like this..." she gestured toward the gaping hole with one hand as she spoke.

"Yeah... I didn't think he was either..." Sycamore scuffed at the gravel, careful to avoid accidentally kicking dust on his conversation partner's fine white boots. Now he felt even worse, for letting this woman down as well as Lysandre. If only he'd just talked to him...

"Pardon?" the woman looked up at Sycamore, as she was slightly shorter than him. "You knew Anatole?"

"He was the friend, that the lilies were for," Sycamore replied. "Not the best obviously, since I didn't see this coming," a hint of bitterness had worked its way into his voice, more toward himself than Lysandre not telling him what was happening.

"He was my cousin, and yet I knew nothing until the authorities told us," the woman clasped her hands before her and cast her eyes toward the pit once again. "You should not be so hard on yourself."

The two shared a silence as the last light faded from the sky, each temporarily lost in their own thoughts. It was Sycamore who eventually spoke up again as he turned to her, "I'm sorry, I didn't ask for your name."

"I am Lady Eloise LaDour," she offered her right hand to shake, and Sycamore found himself feeling a little surprised that she hadn't offered it for him to bow over instead, given her apparent status. "And you?"

"Professor Augustine Sycamore," he took the offered hand and gave Eloise a small smile. "I think you already knew, though...?"

"Anatole spoke of you before," Eloise replied as she released Sycamore's hand. "Nothing bad, I promise you," she added, upon seeing Sycamore's flustered expression. The small smile that had come to her face faded when she glanced at the pit again, and she removed a purple Holo Caster from her breast pocket to check the time. "It is getting late, would you mind trading Holo Caster codes before we part company, Professor?"

"Oh ah, I guess that would be alright," Sycamore was honestly a bit surprised that Eloise would request something like that. He fished his Holo Caster out of his own breast pocket and hit the Local Sync option for contacts as Eloise did the same. Within moments the two devices had registered the new contact codes and were tucked away by their owners.

"Thank you, Professor. And good night," Eloise gave Sycamore a small wave of farewell—which he returned—and started off down the path toward the southern half of Geosenge.

* * *

 

The echo of dripping water was the only sound that broke the silence. Deep below the surface, something stirred as it sensed a shift in the flow of the planet's power.

 _ **"Good, good..."**_  Zygarde swayed slowly from side to side as it noted the change. With a loud thump it slapped its short, flat tail against the cave floor, stirring up dust and shaking the dirt on the cave's ceiling loose with the resulting vibrations. The dust in the air caught what little light was present in the cave and began to form an image which Zygarde spoke to.  _ **"Greetings, Lord Arceus."**_

The pale image of Arceus hovered in the air before Zygarde, flowing and ethereal as the dust it was formed from.  _ **"I take it the wretched device is finally destroyed?"**_  Arceus's voice echoed through the cave as if the deity actually stood there, causing more dirt and dust to shaft down from the ceiling.

 _ **"Yes, the weapon is no more. I can feel the Flow returning to normal even as we speak,"**_  Zygarde replied.

_**"Excellent. How did you finally manage it?"** _

_**"The matter resolved itself, actually,"**_  another slow swish of the tail as Zygarde spoke.

 _ **"Really?"**_  the image of Arceus blinked with surprise; to think that the pesky thing had been destroyed by the very creatures that made it, and with little collateral, no less.  _ **"How so?"**_

 ** _"A few very convenient humans,"_**  Zygarde replied.  _ **"I will keep my eye on them, but I do not expect them to do so much harm as the Traitor King did. I shall personally interfere this time should it go so far."**_


	2. Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note: the brackets mean that the Pokemon are speaking to each other verbally and it's being "translated" for the audience.

**Chapter 2: Escape**

The tumult of grinding rock and screeching metal thundered from all directions as the weapon of legend poured the remainder of its fury into the sky above. Wires snapped like frayed string during the legendary Pokemons' escape swung limp and lifeless as the room shook, sparking with electrical discharge whenever they made contact with a metal object. It was clear that Team Flare's secret headquarters was already falling apart, even before the weapon's energy projectile landed.

In mere minutes the weapon's last bit of power would wipe out the very facility created to hold it. Sycamore's students had fled, out and away to safety as fast as their legs could carry them. Anatole Lysandre no longer cared what happened to him. There was nothing left, now. He'd slumped to his knees after using the last dregs of the weapon's power, and there he remained as he waited for death. He lifted his head, eyes staring blankly into the distance, and spotted the bodies of his Pokemon as they lay motionless on the floor. That was right, they were still down here with him.

Lysandre got to his feet and strode over to where his gyarados lay, removing the metal case that held his Revives from a coat pocket as he moved. He'd said that he wanted to be someone who gave in the past, and now, he would give them the chance to escape. These companions had stayed by his side through thick and thin, ever-loyal and always ready to help, and they would be free to move on and find trainers to love once he was gone. There could still be a future for them, at least. Lysandre placed the first Revive in the corner of Cobalt's mouth, between the tongue and teeth, where it would quickly dissolve and release its potent medicine. He then did the same for his pyroar, honchkrow, and mienshao as Cobalt began to come to.

Soon all four Pokemon were up and looking to Lysandre for direction as the room rumbled around them. Lysandre kept his eyes on the ground and pointed toward the room's one exit. "Go, leave me behind," he spoke just loudly enough to be heard above the tumult. "It's over. There's nothing left for me now but shame, and death." Lysandre allowed his arm to drop to his side at that final statement as shame and despair temporarily overwhelmed him.

Moments dragged by as Lysandre sat there, shoulders slumped and eyes downcast, until something touched his right elbow. He glanced to his right, and found that Regulus crouched there, mouth just touching his sleeve. The pyroar let out a low rumble when they made eye contact, then he latched his jaws onto Lysandre's arm and began to drag him toward the exit.

"Stop this!" Lysandre tried to pull away, but Regulus's jaws maintained a steady hold on his arm. "I'll still be taken from you if I escape, there's no point!" Lysandre tried to pry Regulus's jaws off himself for a few more steps before he finally gave up, allowing his body to droop against the crowd of Pokemon as they continued to push him. He knew that if he survived he would be found, arrested, and forced to watch the world slowly fall to ruin from the inside of a jail cell. A quick death was preferable, but now he was being denied even that and had only years of misery to look forward to. The thought of it made his stomach turn as they neared the door.

A barely-audible beep sounded from somewhere behind Lysandre's left ear, and he glanced over his shoulder at the backpack unit. The exit door slammed shut with a loud clang just a moment later, just missing Regulus's tail and startling the Pokemon into jumping away. Lysandre yelped as two of Regulus's fangs sank deep into his arm, piercing muscle and drawing blood.

Regulus released Lysandre immediately and whimpered an apology, head hung low with shame at having hurt his human.

"'s alright," Lysandre grunted, clamping a hand over the wound to slow the bleeding and holding his arm close to his body as he grit his teeth, "I know you didn't mean to." The sudden pain was enough to disrupt his previous line of thinking and focus his mind on a new issue—the fact that his backpack unit had shut the door when they got close. He watched as Cobalt rammed the door with his massive head in an attempt to knock it down but to no avail; the steel was much too thick.

Lysandre hurried over to the key pad for the door and clumsily punched in the pass code with the bloodied fingers of his left hand. An error code appeared on the screen and the door remained shut tight. Next he removed the backpack unit—with some trouble thanks to his injured arm—and threw it away from himself before trying to open the door again. Just as before, he was given an error code. It seemed that whatever command the backpack unit had sent to the door's computer, his normal pass code would not be enough to open it.

Cobalt backed away from the door, having finally realized what a futile effort attempting to break it down was, and raised his head to sense the air. He began to move to the other side of the chamber, with Mourvedre following behind him in short crow-hops. The honchkrow stopped just short of the broken power source and watched as Cobalt approached the opposite wall, well aware that his fellow Pokemon was on to something.

Time was running out. The energy projectile had likely reached the peak of its ascent and would begin the rapid journey back toward its source at any moment. Lysandre knelt beside the panel and tried to get its cover off. He would have accepted death, alone in this pit, but now his Pokemon were trapped with him. Anger rose like a flame inside his chest, temporarily burning away the despair that had taken root there. It wasn't fair to make them pay for his failures, he had to get them out.

Meanwhile Cobalt had begun to inspect a grated panel on the far side of the room. After breathing the air in through his gaping mouth for a few moments, he drew back and rammed his head into the grate, bashing it off its frame and creating an opening through which they could escape. Cobalt withdrew his head and roared at the other Pokemon to get their attention.

Mourvedre gave a loud caw in reply and fluttered over to where the others stood by the door.

Lysandre's concentration was broken when Mourvedre tugged at his hair. He looked up and saw that Cobalt had created an escape route for them, and was scarcely given the time to stand up before Poise and Regulus were pushing him toward it. This again. It seemed he still had no choice in the matter.

The duct was just big enough for Cobalt to fit through, and he hung back to make sure everyone—including Lysandre—made it into the passage before following himself. Lysandre's Pokemon hurried along, pushing their trainer forward and doing their best to keep him on his feet in the darkness. Even so, the lack of light made it difficult for Lysandre to move at such a quick pace and it felt like every other step was a stumble and near-fall, with his Pokemon being the only thing able to keep him from slamming his face into the floor or walls. The duct began to angle downward in a gentle slope, making it even more difficult for Lysandre to keep moving, but his Pokemon managed to keep him on his feet.

A blast of air tinged with sea water rolled over Lysandre's face as Poise bashed down a grate that blocked their path. Dim light filled this new tunnel, cast by the few ceiling lamps that were still working after the damage the complex had taken. Tremors from firing the weapon had already dislodged many of the wall panels, which created an obstacle course of sharp metal for anyone trying to get through. How much time did they have? He'd lost track in the seemingly endless darkness of the duct. Soon, maybe even within the next few moments. They had to hurry. Lysandre jumped down into the tunnel, and faltered as he again thought of what escape would mean for him.

Cobalt didn't give Lysandre the time to focus on such thoughts and nudged him toward the source of the fresh air with his forehead; they didn't have time for this.

The force of a large explosion shuddered through the earth around them as the projectile landed. The tunnel heaved from the shock wave, throwing Lysandre off his feet. A jagged piece of metal met him on his way to the floor; pain seared across his face as the edge slid from the bottom of his left cheekbone and over his eye, catching on the boney top of its socket before continuing on to his hairline. Lysandre hit the floor with a loud thump, followed by the sound of blood spattering on the floor near his head, eerily clear in his ears despite the roar of the continuing explosions.

It took him a few moments to fully register what had happened. Panic surged in, setting his heart racing and driving rational thought from his head as he lurched to his feet, only to have his knees buckle when the pain and shock caught up. Frantic thoughts piled in to fill the void, one on top of the other, only adding to the confusion as Lysandre raised a hand to clutch at his face.

Lysandre let out a ragged scream with what little breath he still had, and received a lung full of dust upon inhaling for the next. He doubled over, body convulsing from the coughing fit as blood continued to flow warm and thick through his fingers. Tears came next, both from the pain and from the coughing and added their sting to the agonizing throb of the gash.

Beyond the pain and the panic he felt something brush his right shoulder—one of his Pokemon had managed to find him in the darkness, but he wasn't of the frame of mind to distinguish which one. Long, strong forelimbs slipped beneath his heaving chest to help him straighten and get to his feet; his mienshao had managed to find him first. Lysandre got his coughing under control as the others gathered around and began to push him forward, though his breathing was still ragged and uneven with the dust in his lungs and throat.

The shaking had calmed for the most part by now; secondary explosions still shook the tunnel itself, knocking dust and dislodged metal panels loose, but nothing so severe as what the initial explosion produced. Despite the reduced shaking, navigating the tunnel was far from easy with so much debris in the way, which the Pokemon were careful to clear before guiding Lysandre through. Lysandre himself had difficulty walking with the state he was in, as his despair over his failure and his dismal future was further compounded by the pain from his injury, and as a result his steps were slow and faltering.

Another explosion caused the tunnel to shudder. Dust shafted down from the ceiling, and a metal panel that had been only partially attached to the ceiling parted company with its moorings and fell, striking Lysandre squarely on the top of his head.

Poise batted the panel away before it could pin Lysandre, but the damage was done. The hand that was pressed against his wound fell away from Lysandre's face as he lost consciousness, flicking blood on Regulus and Mourvedre as it swung to his side. They caught him before he could hit the ground, and continued forward with his limp body as quickly as they could; the faster they got out, the less risk of their fragile human being further injured by falling debris.

_"[We're almost there,]"_  Cobalt rumbled, still keeping pace just behind the group.

The group began to slow, careful to keep an eye out for any more debris that might harm their human. They were travelling at a brisk walk by the time they reached the ledge that the tunnel ended in.

The tunnel let out into a large cavern, the floor of which was obscured by churning seawater that glowed with refracted sunlight. That meant there was a tunnel leading to the outside world, one that was fairly short given the the light penetration. Poise, Regulus, and Mourvedre took Lysandre to one side of the ledge so Cobalt could get past without knocking them into the water below.

Cobalt slipped out of the tunnel and dropped into the water. The cool embrace of the sea was welcome after the heat and sharp metal of the tunnel, and he quickly scouted the underwater tunnel to see how long it might take to move through it. He found the tunnel to be relatively short, but still too long to expect Lysandre to be taken through it without inhaling water. They would have to come up with a plan to get around that.

With his analysis complete, Cobalt rose from the water to address the others, who were still waiting for him on the ledge. " _[There is an underwater tunnel leading to the outside, but it's too long to take Anatole through safely,]"_  he communicated the dilemma to them in a series of deep rumbles and growls once he was close enough to be heard, then waited for their suggestions.

Each Pokemon leaned over the edge to stare into the water for a few moments, then drew back and conversed among themselves. They had gotten Lysandre this far, there had to be a way to get past the water, too.

_"[What'll we do? We can't just give up now that we've come this far.]"_

_"[Yes but how do we move forward? He will drown if we take him through while he's fainted like this.]"_

Mourvedre hopped about in frustration for a few moments as he plumbed his brain for some sort of solution. A thought occurred to him, and he turned back to the rest of the group,  _"[I have an idea. Perhaps if Cobalt can hold enough air in his mouth, he will be able to carry Anatole and keep him out of the water while we hold onto his back.]"_  He hopped a half-circle until he was facing Cobalt and looked up at the gyarados,  _"[Will you be able to do it?]"_

_"[Yes,]"_  Cobalt replied.  _"[I'd rather not, but if it will get our human out of here then so be it.]"_  Just the thought of tasting the blood of his own human on his tongue sent a sharp twinge of disgust running through him. But it had to be done, it was the only way. Cobalt would just have to cope, and swim through the tunnel and to the surface as quickly as possible.  _"[Just make sure you hold on tight.]"_

Cobalt took a few moments to ready himself, then inhaled, held his breath, and lowered his mouth to the ledge, tucking his tongue to the back of his mouth to make as much room as possible. Regulus and Mourvedre propped Lysandre up in a sitting position while Poise folded his arms over his stomach. Once done, Poise and the others carefully lifted Lysandre into Cobalt's mouth and hopped onto his back where they clung to his spikes in preparation for the plunge. Cobalt carefully closed his mouth and dove into the water without wasting any time, eager to get Lysandre out of his mouth again.

The others managed to cling to Cobalt's back during the entire trip through the tunnel, and spent a few moments gasping for breath once they hit the surface. Cobalt raised a section of his long back above the water for them to rest on, then swung his head around to pass Lysandre off to them. Poise and Mourvedre worked together to lift Lysandre out of Cobalt's mouth and place him on the gyarados's back. Cobalt rinsed his mouth out with seawater while the others checked Lysandre's condition. To their great relief, they found that he was still breathing and apparently not in any worse condition than he had been when they reached the end of the tunnel.

Still, Lysandre's condition was cause for great worry, as the wounds on his face, head, and arm were still bleeding and he was still unconscious. The wounds needed to be bandaged to stop the bleeding—they knew that much from observing how humans were treated when hurt at least—and perhaps they would be able to recruit the help of a healer Pokemon once they found a safe place to make land.

The pale coastal cliffs of Geosenge and Route 10 towered to the northeast, and the wide featureless ocean expanded to the west. Mourvedre stared at the cliffs for a few moments, then checked the position of the sun: mid-afternoon.  _"[Geosenge is just over those cliffs,]"_  he said, gesturing toward land with one wing. The honchkrow spread his wings to aid in balance as he turned to Poise and Mourvedre,  _"[They should have what we need. I'll be back within the hour if I find everything.]"_  He took off in a gust of wind from his wings and began to fly off toward the sea cliffs.

_"[Wait, Mour!]"_  Cobalt called for him to stop before he could fly off and gestured toward a jagged stand of rocks that jutted out from the waves when the honchkrow turned to look at him; they would hide there until he returned.

Mourvedre nodded, banked to his right and flew off, soon becoming little more than a black dot against the pale cliff face.

Cobalt watched Mourvedre for a few moments, then turned and swam toward the rocks, careful to keep one section of his back above the waves as he moved. His entire body hurt after the beating he'd received from Serena's Pokemon, and he hoped Mourvedre would be mindful enough to bring back some berries on top of the supplies they needed to patch up Lysandre. Anything to take the edge off his exhaustion, even staying afloat was difficult with how tired he felt. He turned to check on Lysandre, and found that his condition still had not changed.

Minutes dragged by at a glacial pace as Cobalt bobbed in the waves beside the stand of rocks, caught between fighting off his exhaustion and coping with his worry over Lysandre's condition. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Cobalt spotted Mourvedre as the honchkrow crested the sea cliffs and soared down toward them, a pure white bed sheet held in his beak. Cobalt called out with a roar of greeting as Mourvedre drew near, glad that the honchkrow had managed to make it back without incident.

Mourvedre replied with a deep, throaty caw through the sheet and lowered his burden to the pair on Cobalt's back before returning to Cobalt's head. The honchkrow produced a sitrus berry from his collar feathers and tossed it into Cobalt's mouth.

It was amazing what such a small berry could do. Cobalt felt better almost immediately, and the veil of exhaustion finally lifted from his senses. While no proper substitute for a good rest, this small snack would hold him over until they got somewhere safe.

Cobalt turned to check on Lysandre and the others again, and spotted a mid-sized ship approaching them from the south. The sight of the ship was worrying enough, the speed it was travelling at even more so, fast enough that Cobalt could soon make out the humans standing on the deck. A cold lance of fear shot through him when one of the humans pointed directly at them and the boat began to turn toward the rocks.

_"[Humans!]"_  Cobalt warned, causing the others to jump. They turned to look where he was facing and spotted the boat as well. It was time to leave. They couldn't let the other humans take Lysandre away after all they'd done to save him.

Poise and Regulus held Lysandre between them and gripped Cobalt's scales with their claws to anchor themselves, while Mourvedre clung to a dorsal spine with his talons. Once everyone was ready, Cobalt lifted off and raced northward, gradually climbing in altitude as he moved.

The boat pursued them a ways up the coast, but Cobalt was even faster in the air than he was in water and he soon outpaced and left it far behind. Though the first boat was out of sight, Cobalt was still too wary to think they were in the clear just yet—if one boat managed to find them, there could be more lurking about along the coast. Cobalt kept flying, serpentine body undulating like a streamer in the wind. Geosenge and its connecting routes faded into the distance as he continued north.

Storm clouds that once seemed small on the horizon now loomed directly overhead, unheeded by Cobalt until a large gust of wind knocked him off course. Cobalt swung his head around to check that he still had all his passengers—all were still there, Poise and Regulus holding Lysandre to Cobalt's back while Mourvedre clung to a dorsal spine—and tried to make for land. The wind fought him at every turn, forcing Cobalt farther and farther out to sea and into the thick of the storm. Soon the land vanished from view, veiled by heavy sheets of rain and too far to have any hope of reaching it.

They were completely lost now, and at the mercy of the unrelenting storm. It was all Cobalt could do just to keep them aloft and away from the waves below. There was nothing to be done now but hope the storm released them over land, somewhere they could get their bearings and find help for Lysandre.

Cobalt braced himself as an updraft swept them up into the clouds; tonight would be a long night indeed.


	3. Red Wine

**Chapter 3: Red Wine**

Eloise swirled the wine within the large bulb of her glass; it was a luxurious dark red variety, almost purple in color and exquisitely complex in flavor. She raised the glass in a toast to herself, the pale wood furniture and ivory-colored trappings of her private chambers her only company. To think it would have been this easy. She would have started this years ago had she known before.

A smile lifted the corners of her mouth as she checked the information on her tablet again; Anatole's will would be read the following day, but she already knew what she was due. All of his business assets, patents and research would soon belong to her, she had seen to it. There was no one else Anatole had seen fit to run his company should some ill fate befall him. And befall him it had, just as she had planned. Her cousin lay crushed at the bottom of a pit, and members of her organization disguised as construction workers were preparing to extract the precious resource that the weapon's broken remains had created.

The sound of the door to her main chambers swinging open interrupted Eloise's thoughts, and she looked up to find that her butler had entered the room. As second nature her mind flexed and cast its power toward him, and found only the expected thoughts in his head. Nothing amiss, as expected.

Eloise's butler was a slender man, somewhat younger than what most expect a butler to be. The man strode up to her, each step meticulously measured and even, then bowed without hesitation upon reaching her table. "My lady, Alexandre has requested an audience with you. He is in the main hall even as we speak," he said.

"Very well," Eloise's serene expression remained as she set the wine glass down and pushed her chair back from the small round table she had been seated at. "Tell him that I will be ready in five minutes. And fetch some of that specially-imported guava juice, I remember he quite enjoyed it last time."

"Yes, my lady," the butler bowed to Eloise again, and left through the main door.

Once she could no longer hear her butler, Eloise left the table and entered her boudoir. A locked cabinet in a far corner of the room held the item she sought: a strange device similar in appearance to a reverse tiara. Eloise lifted it from the case it rested in and slid it from the back of her neck and up her head, so that it was eventually hidden within the long tresses of her platinum blonde hair. At the press of a small button at the center of the device's main plate, it activated and deafened Eloise's power.

As she left the boudoir Eloise paused before the main mirror to check that the device was fully hidden, which it was. She hoped this would be a short meeting; this handy device was all well and good for keeping powerful psychics from reading her, but it gave her a headache without fail if she wore it too long. Best to get this over with quickly and send Alexandre on his way.

Eloise composed herself, then left the boudoir and closed the door. She continued across the room to the main door and checked the time: three minutes had passed, and Alexandre would knock at the door in two minutes. Lead time with the device on meant that her deeper thoughts would be suitably concealed by the time Alexandre got within range to sense her.

Two minutes passed, and a soft knock came at the door. Eloise opened it after a moment's pause and stepped aside to allow her guest to enter. "Good day, Alexandre. Please, come in."

A paw, two-toed and pale purple, passed over the threshold and came to rest on the fine wooden floor panels, soon followed by its owner. Alexandre was a mewtwo. At around six and a half feet in height he towered over Eloise, especially with his perfect upright posture. His shoulders were covered by a short cape made from thick fabric of a subdued blue color, with a pale cerulean cravat at his neck to match.

Intense violet eyes settled on Eloise, and Alexandre inclined his head in a polite nod of greeting, his gaze temporarily hooded as he half closed his eyes.  _"Good day, Aunt Eloise. Thank you for letting me visit at such short notice,"_  the thought-speech rang loud and clear in Eloise's head, unimpeded by the device, and in a tone that was reminiscent of what would be expected of a young man.

"Of course. It's the least I can do for my dear nephew after what has happened," Eloise led him to the round table she had been seated at before, and gestured for him to make himself comfortable.

Alexandre glanced around the room and spotted the chair that Eloise kept just for him, larger than normal in order to accommodate his size and with a slot in the back large enough for his tail to fit through. He made a beckoning gesture with his right hand, and the chair lifted into the air and came to rest at the table, opposite to where Eloise now sat.

The butler entered, bearing a tray laden with glasses and a pitcher filled with a pale magenta juice, just as Alexandre took his seat at the table. Guava was an odd sort of fruit that was similar to an aguav berry and recently discovered deep in the tropical jungle of another region, and as such products made from it were still expensive to acquire and had been a major fad among the rich for some time now. Alexandre wasn't one to particularly care about what was popular and simply enjoyed its unique taste.

_"Thank you,"_  Alexandre said as the butler set the tray on the table and poured a glass of the chilled juice for him.

Once he had set the pitcher and extra glasses within easy reach on the table, the butler bowed to the two of them and left them to their private conversation.

"So what brings you here today, Alexandre?" Eloise asked, though she already had a good idea of what was on his mind. She picked up her glass of wine and swirled it as she waited for his answer.

_"I want to know if you have any confirmation on Father's status,"_  Alexandre said, ignoring his juice glass for now.

Eloise adopted an expression of weary sadness when she heard this. "It is the same as the last time I told you. Our workers have not managed to get down to the weapon chamber yet, but I fear there is little hope for his survival," she set the wine glass down and folded her hands in her lap. "You've been searching for him all this time, haven't you?"

_"Barnard did not find him among the lost spirits of Geosenge."_

"And you're guessing that this means he is either alive or at peace," Eloise kept the flurry of thoughts that began to rise at that assertion at bay and maintained her expression.

_"Of course,"_  Alexandre leaned forward slightly.  _"But with how much he has suffered for this world, and the fact that he was thwarted..."_  his fingers slowly tensed and balled into a fist.  _"He could never be at peace after what happened."_

"And yet he was not seen escaping through any of the emergency exits," Eloise's finger tapped against her knee as she spoke. "And did you sense Anatole or his Pokemon within the weapon chamber?"

Alexandre shook his head.  _"No, I didn't. But..."_  he hesitated, as if unsure of how to word his next statement properly.

"Go on," Eloise allowed a small bubble of "hope" to make its way up to the surface of her mind where Alexandre would sense it, and waited for him to gather his thoughts.

_"I found a few scales from Cobalt at the mouth of the main construction tunnel for the headquarters,"_  Alexandre finished.  _"I know Cobalt. He would never have left without Father and the others."_

"I see," Eloise allowed her gaze to wander around the room as she tapped her lower lip in thought. Finally, she closed her eyes in weariness and sat back, "But false hope is a cruel master, and I don't care to court with it at the moment. I will keep an eye out, but until I find evidence to the contrary I can only assume that Anatole is dead."

_"Right..."_  Alexandre drooped slightly, and the glass lifted off the tabletop to float toward him. Eloise could feel him brooding over what she'd said even through the device as he took the glass in one hand and sipped from it.

Eloise decided that it would be prudent to direct his attention elsewhere for the time being. "Have you given any additional thought to my proposal?" she picked up the wine glass again and took a few sips as she awaited his answer.

Alexandre's head snapped up at the question, as he had only been half paying attention during his brooding.  _"Yes... I'm just, not sure if that's what Father would have wanted. He said he didn't want me to soil my hands with this work."_

"And do you still agree with that now?"

Another pause.  _"I will think about it,"_  Alexandre set the glass, now half-empty, down on the tabletop before him. He stared at a far corner of the room for a few moments, then got to his feet.  _"I have other matters to attend to,"_  Alexandre stood, and his chair lifted off and sailed back to where it had been before.  _"Take care of yourself, Auntie,"_  Alexandre gave her a nod of farewell.

"And you, Alexandre," Eloise got to her feet and set the wine glass down, then escorted Alexandre to the door. She gave him a small wave of farewell as he walked down the hall toward the main entrance, and he returned one of his own before leaving her line of sight.

The butler entered Eloise's room around five minutes later and found her seated at the table again, tablet in her lap as she reviewed some piece of information. "Alexandre has departed, my lady," he said.

"Good," Eloise flicked her index finger across the tablet's surface to turn the page. "You may go."

"Yes, my lady," the butler bowed, then left her chambers without another word.

Once he was out of the room, Eloise removed the device from the back of her head with an annoyed sigh and set it on the table; she could already feel a headache brewing behind her forehead. Using it was necessary in order to keep secrets from Alexandre, especially after what she had done to her cousin. Still, the suggestion that Anatole was alive was a troubling one. It would be inconvenient for him to return, to say the least, especially in regards to Alexandre. Even if she were to have her contacts among the police and government quietly dispose of Lysandre once he was caught, Alexandre would still search for him tirelessly if given any indication to where he might be.

Eloise flicked the final report on Team Flare aside and brought up her contact list. Time to talk with her government contacts on the matter, she would not stand for any hindrances to her plan, family or not.

* * *

The storm finally released them on the coast of an unknown land. Dark, rain-slicked treetops greeted them as Cobalt rose over the white chalk cliffs and drifted toward the ground, searching for a decent place to land. He entered the first large break among the trees that he could find and dropped the last few feet, completely exhausted by well over a night of ceaseless flight.

Mourvedre was the first to tumble off the gyarados's back to land on the loamy forest floor in a scruffy pile of feathers, also tired from clinging to his comrade's back for so long. Poise and Regulus followed at a slower pace, careful to avoid knocking Lysandre off of Cobalt's back by accident as they moved. All were soaked to the bone and battered from the storm, but thankfully still alive.

Poise turned back to Cobalt and lowered Lysandre to the forest floor as slowly as he could, then checked to see how their human was faring. Unfortunately Lysandre still fared even worse than his Pokemon, as he was now drenched from the storm and still out cold. The rough bandage job that Poise had managed to cover the wound on Lysandre's face with was stained red-brown from the blood seeping through, and his breathing was shallow and uneven. Poise dragged him toward Cobalt's head, where Regulus would be able to keep an eye on the two of them while he and Mourvedre searched the forest for food and water.

Cobalt lay on the forest floor, eyes closed and motionless save for the rise and fall of his massive flanks as he breathed. It would be some time before the Gyarados moved again if they didn't find berries of some sort to feed to him.

Regulus limped over to where Lysandre lay and settled down beside him, steam rising from his flanks as he heated himself with the flame within his body; at this distance the heat would reach Lysandre and warm him up as well. The Pyroar gave voice to a low rolling growl as he nudged Lysandre with is nose, but the human did not stir. He let out a weary sigh, then raised his head to keep a look out as Poise and Mourvedre disappeared into the forest.

The denizens of the forest were still recovering from the severity of the storm, and Mourvedre saw few other Pokemon as he searched for berries and wild edibles. A fletchling called in the distance and was answered by another, but neither of them came close enough for him to spot. That was fine with him; fletchlings were territorial, and he didn't have the strength to waste on dealing with them right now.

Mourvedre continued on, flying only for short distances in an attempt to keep his strength up. He hopped over a large root to find a small oran berry tree growing in a clearing just ahead, and he hurried over to inspect its branches and the ground around its base. The storm had damaged many of the berries from this tree, but there were still a few ripe oran berries scattered about on the ground of the clearing. Mourvedre was just picking one up when he heard a flurry of sound above his head.

A swanna flock soared overhead as Mourvedre looked up, an oran berry in his beak as he watched them. Swanna! They were vain and powerful, a bit too stuck up for Mourvedre's taste normally, but they weren't above lending help to those who could catch their fancy with compliments and more than a little humility. Mourvedre tucked the oran berry into his collar feathers and took to the air as quickly as his tired body would allow.

_"[Lovely Swanna with feathers of purest white!]"_  Mourvedre called before the Swanna could get out of range.  _"[Please lend me your ears, I have a request if you would be kind enough to help me!]"_  He was laying it on thick, but he wasn't willing to risk being turned down for lack of complements; for a swanna there could never be too many.

To Mourvedre's relief, the lead swanna let out a long, keening call and the flock slowed, allowing the weary honchkrow to reach and keep pace with them.  _"[Thank you!]"_  Mourvedre made his way to the head of the flock and tried to ignore the hint of disgust in the lead swanna's expression as he drew near.  _"[Our human is badly hurt and in need of immediate healing,]"_  he began once he was within hearing range.  _"[One of our own, a gyarados, is hurt also and can barely move. I have heard that Swanna can heal even the most grievous of wounds if they put their minds to it, will you please help us?]"_

The lead swanna glided easily on the wind with his massive wings as he considered Mourvedre's request. Almost a minute passed before the swanna replied, and Mourvedre had just been about to leave when he finally spoke up.

_"[We are in no hurry to reach the location of our nightly dance, lead on. We will heal your human and the gyarados, since you have so humbly requested it of us.]"_

Stuck up for sure, but Mourvedre was more than willing to humor their pride if it meant Anatole would be healed. He dove and led the flock toward the place where Cobalt rested without wasting any more time, and soon he spotted the gyarados's blue flank through the trees. The honchkrow came to rest beside his human while the swanna flock found places to land around the small clearing.

Regulus looked to Mourvedre in surprise at finding himself surrounded with these newcomers, and at the Honchkrow's nod he got up and moved aside so the swanna could approach their patient.

The lead swanna strutted over to the group, head held high and wings tucked to his sides as he approached. Once beside Lysandre, he lowered his head to inspect the rough bandages on the human's face, a shadow of worry in his eyes.  _"[So your human... Did he get this wound by running afoul of the Fairies?]"_  he asked, barely loud enough for Regulus and Mourvedre to hear.

_"[Fairies?]"_  Regulus was honestly surprised by such an assertion; Fairies in Kalos were annoying to deal with, sure, but most weren't in the habit of hurting humans in such a savage manner.

_"[What kind of Fairies are you talking about?]"_  Mourvedre added.

Rather than answering the question, the swanna waved them into silence with one wing and instead focused on his patient. A faint blue glow radiated from the swanna's body as he gathered his power and directed it toward the ailing human before him. To the swanna's shock, rather than taking to the patient and healing his wounds the power was forced away and dissipated like thin smoke on the breeze. He drew back in surprise, not entirely sure of how he should react to this development. Perhaps it was merely a fluke of some sort. The swanna tried again, with the same result.

Such failure would be greatly distressing to any swanna, they who prided themselves on being able to live up to the expectations others had of them with ease, and he tried several more times before raising his wings in despair and letting out a low, trilling call.  _"[No effect! I can't believe this! Someone else try, quickly!]"_

Others from the flock stepped forward to try it themselves, but each was as unsuccessful as the last, until finally they attempted the healing as a group. Still nothing.

Desperate for some sort of result and worried that their powers had somehow declined without their notice, the swanna turned to healing Cobalt. The gyarados responded to their power almost immediately, opening his eyes and raising his head to look around in surprise at their new guests. There was no question, there had to be something wrong with the human that was turning their power away.

_"[It's your human,]"_  the swanna stated as he circled Lysandre, trying to find something that might explain the failed healing.  _"[Something about him prevents our powers from working on him.]"_

It was a shock to hear, and they knew what they would have to do now; risk seeking the help of other humans. There was no choice now with Anatole in such bad shape, he would never last in this condition.

The lead swanna regathered his composure, still shaken over having been unable to use his powers on someone, and addressed the group:  _"[I apologize that I have been unable to help your human, but I can at least lend you some advice. Nighttime isn't safe for humans in this forest, so you'll need to stay in one of the outposts once darkness falls. We can show you how to get to it before we continue on our way.]"_  He lowered his voice and drew a bit nearer, so that only Cobalt, Regulus, and Mourvedre could hear,  _"[The Fairies make it difficult for humans here, but he should be safe in the outpost.]"_

_"[Wait so what makes the Fairies so scary?]"_  Regulus cut in, only to be shushed by the swanna.

_"[Not so loud,]"_  he hissed, chorused by the other swanna who stood nearby.  _"[They can hear you if spoken of too much and too loud.]"_

The assertion was giving Regulus the chills, and Mourvedre's feathers were beginning to stand on end. These sounded like Fairies they never wanted to meet.

_"[Alright, lead the way, but we need to wait for Poise to get back before we can go,]"_  Cobalt said. He shook his head vigorously to try and settle his scales—all this talk of monsters lurking in the forest was putting him on edge.

Poise returned soon enough, and nearly dropped his berries in surprise upon finding that he was suddenly surrounded on all sides by swanna.  _"[What's going on here?]"_  he asked, hurrying over to where the rest of his group huddled around Anatole.  _"[Are they here to help?]"_

_"[We'll explain on the way,]"_  Cobalt lowered his back for the others to get on.  _"[They're going to show us a safe place to stay for the night.]"_

The swanna flew at a steady pace once they were in the air, one that Cobalt and even Mourvedre could keep up with. Regulus explained the failed healing to Poise on the way, and shared a few details on what the swanna had told them about the Fairies.

Mourvedre caught up with the lead swanna after checking on Lysandre again.  _"[So what exactly do... They do to humans?]"_  he asked quietly.

_"[They see humans as playthings,]"_  the swanna's voice was so low that Mourvedre barely heard it.  _"[I saw it once...]"_  his voice faded into silence as he recalled the horrible incident.  _"[He wasn't killed outright but... By the time the other humans found him it was too late. We could not help either because of the nature of the injuries inflicted upon him,]"_  the swanna half-closed his eyes for a moment, then turned to Mourvedre.  _"[That is why I thought I would be able to heal your human when you said he was not attacked by them.]"_

_"[I don't understand why it wouldn't work...]"_  Mourvedre mumbled.

_"[I believe your human is plagued by an affliction of the spirit,]"_  the swanna said, louder this time as he was not speaking of the Fairies.  _"[Until it is cured, healing powers will have no effect on his bodily wounds.]"_

_"[And who can cure that?]"_

_"[That place is more than a day's flight away from here. It's too late to try today, but we can lead you there tomorrow if you're still up for the journey.]"_

_"[Thank you,]"_  Mourvedre tipped his beak in respect to the swanna and his help.  _"[We greatly appreciate it.]"_

_"[The humans here have it hard,]"_  the swanna mused.  _"[And I can see how much you care for yours,]"_  the bottom lids of the swanna's eyes lifted in a smile. He then cast his gaze groundward and began to make his descent toward their destination.

The outpost was a building roughly in the shape of a square, made from stone banded by iron and partially overgrown with vines and moss. It would be just big enough for everyone to fit inside, given its apparent size from the outside, with the door large enough for Cobalt to slip through. Larger shrubs refused to grow within several feet of its walls, though the forest floor was paved with grass.

An odd shimmer caught Mourvedre's eye, and he peered at the nearest cornerstone in the partial shade of the forest. This cornerstone was heavily engraved in swirls and spirals, appearing at first to be chaotic in style but a closer inspection revealed that there was a subtle pattern to it. It was the engravings that were throwing off this strange shimmer, so faint that they were only half visible in daylight. He looked up, and realized that there were other, smaller and more rounded stones with the same swirling-mist pattern that had been placed at even intervals several feet from the walls of the structure, four in all on this side and probably more on the other.

_"[This is the outpost,]"_  the flock leader said as he landed on the grass of the clearing.  _"[You will be safe during the night with the door shut,]"_  he turned to them again, his stare dead serious.  _"[Once the door is closed for the night you must not open it for anything.]"_

Cobalt nodded as Regulus and Poise removed Lysandre from his back.  _"[Understood. Is there anything else?]"_

_"[Stay inside, and stay safe,]"_  the swanna replied.  _"[We will come back for you tomorrow,]"_  he opened his wings and prepared to take off.  _"[Good luck!]"_

_"[Safe journey!]"_  Mourvedre called, raising a wing in farewell as the swanna flock began to leave the clearing. He looked to the west, and noted that the sun was beginning to dip low in the sky; getting to the outpost had taken a few hours of flying.

The group filed into the outpost to get a look at their shelter for the night. Furnishings were sparse, with nothing save for a cluster of cabinets on the far side of the room and a cot to take up floor space. One of the cabinets was painted white with a red cross on the front, a symbol that they remembered was associated with treating injured Pokemon and humans alike.

Poise and Regulus laid Lysandre out on the cot where he would be off the floor and out of the way and began to explore the cupboards. Cobalt withdrew from the outpost since his bulk would just be in the way, and decided to scout the perimeter for anything of interest.

Nothing caught his eye as he combed the grassy clearing, though there was something worth noticing just beyond it; scolipede tracks, fairly old given how faded they were. They led into the clearing of the outpost and then back out again in a different area, probably meaning they were working with the humans who stayed here last. He raised his head from the tracks as something dark fluttered over his head and alighted on a nearby branch.

_"[We should go in for the night,]"_  Mourvedre glanced to the west, where the sun was nearing the horizon.  _"[I don't want to take any risks.]"_

Cobalt nodded, and followed the honchkrow as he led the way back to the outpost, where Regulus and Poise waited for them in the doorway. The pair stood to either side to let Cobalt and Mourvedre in, and Poise pulled the door shut behind them and barred it with the sturdy plank of wood that rested at its side, plunging them into almost total darkness save for the small amount of light that got in through the outpost's vents. Cobalt lay with his head near the cot, his long body resting near the every wall of the room like a living barrier between those within and whatever might be outside. The others arranged themselves within the circle formed by Cobalt's body, on the floor near where their human lay in the cot.

Hours passed, the sunlight faded and the noises of the forest's nighttime inhabitants crept through the walls, a reassuring suite of sound that indicated there was nothing amiss outside. Each member of the group attempted to stay awake and alert, and each eventually succumbed to the heavy weight of what had happened in the past few days and drifted into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

Regulus wasn't immediately aware of what had woken him up. He raised his head and slowly scanned the darkness of the room around him; nothing to see. The sounds of the others' breathing filled the room around him, and he was about to go back to sleep himself when he realized what had roused him: the sudden absence of the forest's nighttime sounds. Regulus's nostrils flared in a futile attempt to get the scent of whatever had scared them off, and his fur began to stand on end as he pushed himself up to a sitting position, muscles tight from anxiety.

The movements roused Poise, who raised his head to look up at where he could hear Regulus's now-tense breathing. It took only a few moments for Poise to find what made his comrade to tense, and he strained his ears for whatever may have scared the forest dwellers into silence.

Soon Cobalt and Mourvedre were awake as well, having sensed the new tension in the room. Silence roared in their ears as they listened for any noise that might give away the thing that was surely lurking outside, but nothing stirred beyond the wall. Minutes dragged by with only the sound of their pounding hearts and hushed breathing to fill their ears.

A burst of noise, filled with impossible echoes and sounding eerily similar to a human laugh, rang out just beyond the wall of the outpost. One of the cabinets rattled as Cobalt hit its doors with his side, having been startled enough to jump by the noise. Another sound followed the laugh, the scritch of something sharp being dragged across the stones of the wall, starting by the door and running along the walls to its left.

The scratching continued along the walls until it came to a sudden halt at the place just beside where Lysandre lay in the cot, and a few moments passed with no sound from the other side of the wall. Regulus leaped forward and started to pull Lysandre away from the wall, worried that the thing outside could somehow hurt him despite the physical barrier between them. Poise and Mourvedre jumped forward as well, the grip of fear temporarily broken by Regulus's movement, and assisted him in moving Lysandre to the middle of their huddle, as far away from the walls as possible. Cobalt tightened his coils around the lot, scales rasping against the stone floor as he moved.

They waited, barely breathing, straining their ears for any sound that might give a clue as to where the monster outside was. A tumult of noise, the crackle of breaking branches and the rip of turf being torn from the ground, sounded outside, making them draw closer together around Lysandre. Something rushed away into the distance on four legs, heavy and hooved judging by how loud it was.

Silence remained only briefly this time, as the noise of the forest dwellers returned once the noise of pounding hooves had faded with distance. It began to ebb away after the initial flurry, and the group soon realized that the forest dwellers, rather than returning to their usual business, were leaving the area around the outpost as quickly as they could. The realization made their hearts sink, as it meant that they would have a long night ahead of them when the monster returned, probably with friends next time.

Poise took the opportunity to settle Lysandre more securely within the huddle, with his right side resting against Regulus's shoulder and his arms folded in his lap. The mienshao, along with Mourvedre, positioned themselves before Lysandre where they could help ensure that he was protected on all sides.

Some time later the air outside was filled with the crash of large creatures moving through the brush and low hanging branches of the forest. The creatures circled the outpost, making the walls vibrate from the noise. After a while they stopped and all was quiet for a moment, then the scratching began again, this time on every wall simultaneously. Some were even trying the door, causing it to rattle in its frame but ultimately they were unable to get it open.

Cobalt carefully slid himself around to face the door, ready for anything that might make it through. Without exchanging a word with one another, the group all knew that this would be a long, weary night.

They had almost grown used to the noise when it stopped altogether. Regulus perked his ears up, hopeful that the creatures outside had lost interest and left, unlikely as it was. Soon Poise and the others followed his example, lifting their heads and listening for the sound of the creatures outside.

_"[We know you have a human in there, little ones,]"_  the voice was deep and gruff, with the echo of sorrowful wails in its depths.  _"[Those silly swanna were too unskilled to assist you, but we can help him. Just open the door.]"_

The voice sent chills down their spines; it was unlike any they'd heard before, rough and alien. They chose to ignore it in the hopes that it would fall silent upon getting no reply.

For a while the voice did leave them in peace, just long enough to fall into a fitful half-doze. The sound of fists pounding against the door snapped them back to full awareness. "Someone, help me!" a human voice called from the other side of the door, which rattled in its frame again as it was hit again.

It was a shock, one that almost drove them to action, but the words of the swanna flock leader came back to them and they remained, trembling, where they lay. The door must not be opened once it is shut. Not for any reason whatsoever.

_"[We can't open it,]"_  Regulus rasped, barely audible above the pounding and cries for help.

As if in reply to Regulus's statement, the cries rose in a pained scream that trailed off to a near-silent sob. Something substantial slammed against the door and slid down its length until whatever it was on the other side came to rest on the ground.

Poise started to move. Regulus's head swung around to where he heard the Mienshao moving in the darkness and snapped,  _"[Don't even think it, Poise.]"_

_"[But what if there's someone out there?]"_  Poise's voice floated toward him in the darkness, slightly farther away than he expected.

_"[There isn't. It's obviously a trick to get us to open the door, they still have this place surrounded,]"_ Regulus replied.

_"[How do you know it's not real? They need our help!]"_

The human's voice rose again in a scream as if to prove Poise's point.

_"[And our human will suffer the same fate if we open it to help,]"_  Mourvedre cut in, his voice cold.  _"[Even if there is a human out there, we cannot sacrifice our own for the slim chance of saving a stranger.]"_

Poise was silent for a few moments, then the sound of his paws on the floor trailed back over to where he had been laying before. He settled down in front of Lysandre and did his best to shut out the sobbing.

_"[Oh you're cruel, aren't you?]"_  the voice came again as the sobbing stopped.  _"[Won't even lift a paw to help a human in need.]"_

The high trilling cry of a swanna in pain filled the air next.

Cabinets rattled as Poise hit their fronts and started to yank them open, searching frantically for something that he might use to shut out the noise. After some searching, he seized a blanket from the depths of one of the cabinets and dragged it with him back to his post near Lysandre, where he dropped to the ground and buried his head in the blanket's folds.

They managed to hold firm as the torment continued. Eventually the voice's jeering tone turned to one of anger, and the creatures began to become less structured in their assaults, one minute flinging curses upon them and the next mimicking the cries of more victims. Sleep was impossible with the constant noise, and the group were forced to settle for resting while still awake instead.

Regulus lay with his head between his paws as his head began to ache from all the noise. To think they'd been carried away from Kalos by the storm only to end up in a place like this, where Fairies were monsters and humans were hunted.

This night could not end fast enough.


	4. Blackridge University

 

Somehow, they had managed to drift off for a few hours.

Regulus lifted his head and looked around the room; Cobalt had his eyes half open as he worked up the will to start moving, and Mourvedre was already inspecting the light that filtered in through one of the vents.  Poise appeared to still be asleep, covered as he was by the blanket he'd been trying to plug his ears with.

The pyroar turned to look at Lysandre, who still leaned against his shoulder as before, and gently touched his nose to his forehead.  Much warmer than before, a bad sign in a human.   _“[Poise,]”_ Regulus tapped the blanket-covered mound with one paw as he called the mienshao’s name.

Poise’s nose emerged from the blanket’s folds as he stirred, soon followed by his head.   _“[Did we make it?]”_ he asked, blinking blearily up at Regulus.

 _“[Well the monsters didn’t get in if that’s what you mean,]”_ Mourvedre quipped as he hopped down next to them.   _“[It’s light out now so it should be safe to open the door.]”_

 _“[I am aware,]”_ Regulus rumbled.   _“[Anatole seems too warm to me,]”_ he added, skipping straight to the point. _“[I would appreciate it if someone else could check.]”_

Poise was on his feet in an instant.  The blanket crumpled to the floor as he pushed it off his back and hurried to Lysandre's side.  At this closer distance he could easily hear how shallow and ragged Lysandre's breathing was, and he found that the human did feel much warmer than normal upon pressing his nose to Lysandre's face.   _“[Should we try to cool him down?]”_ Poise asked, looking to Regulus and Mourvedre in turn.

 _“[I've seen humans putting ice bags on their foreheads if they're too hot,]”_ Mourvedre offered.   _“[Either way let's move him out of here for now and see if some fresh air helps.]”_

Cobalt removed the block from the door with his mouth and pushed it open, allowing a wave of fresh air to flow in.  He then left the outpost, moving as carefully as possible to avoid jostling the others as he went.  After the horrible sounds coming from the clearing last night, he fully expected to discover some sort of debris or other sign of their visitors, but there was nothing to be found.  The clearing looked exactly as it had the day before, save for a few leaves that had fallen onto the carpet of grass.  He turned in time to watch as Poise and Regulus carried Lysandre out of the outpost and laid him on the softest patch of grass they could find.

Lysandre looked even worse in the sunlight.  He was thinner than yesterday, his cheeks slightly sunken and flushed from fever.  The wear and tear from their rough journey was also painfully apparent; his hair was dull, limp, and messy, and clothes that had once been the height of fashion in their home region were now more suited to the confines of a trash bin than being worn by someone of Lysandre's status.

Mourvedre began to undo the buttons on Lysandre’s jacket as Cobalt drifted over to them.  The swanna had promised to return and lead them to a place where Lysandre could be healed, so for now they would have to wait and do their best to cool him off.

* * *

Hildred slung the dark green cloak about her shoulders and fastened it at her throat.  It was standard wear for the Black Rangers, durable and warm in case the wearer was forced to rough it for a day or two.  She turned to look at Elizabeth as the human finished checking the contents of her pack.  As one of the lucarios who lived at the university Hildred had many human friends, but Elizabeth was the one she held most dear.

“Looks like you're all set,” Elizabeth closed the pack and fastened the straps.  “Be careful out there,” she added as she handed the pack over to Hildred.

 _“I always am,”_ Hildred swung the pack around and tugged the straps to keep it snug against her back.   _“I’ll be back in two days or less,”_ her thought-speech voice was feminine with a deeper undertone.  

Elizabeth followed Hildred to the door and offered one final wave of farewell—returned by Hildred as she crossed the expanse of lawn that lay behind the university—before returning to her research.

The wardstones that guarded the human settlements against the dangers of the forest seemed to hum at Hildred in greeting as she drew near.  They were ancient, having been made around three thousand years ago, and engraved with flowing patterns of swirling mist.  Hildred rested a paw on one as she passed, a sort of good luck ritual she had picked up from the human Rangers, then stepped out into the untamed wild lands of Suritaine.

Wild, yes.  But beautiful as well.  The forest housed a deep green illumination beneath its thick boughs, brought about as the sunlight filtered through thousands of leaves.  It was beautiful, refreshing, and yet the humans of this land rarely ventured even as far as the forest edge.  From twilight until dawn, the danger of the fairies made the forest off-limits to humans.  Only skilled Ranger groups dared to venture in for any extended period of time, and that was always with scolipede mounts and a few powerful lucarios to accompany them.

Being a lucario herself meant that Hildred was less at risk when she ventured into the forest, but it still paid to be careful.  She kept an eye out for anything amiss as she made her way deeper and deeper into the expanse of green, for either signs of unusual fairy activity or evidence that there may have been a lost human about recently.

The first hour or so brought nothing out of the ordinary, and Hildred had just reached the foothills of the Blackridge Mountains when a flutter of movement in the sky above caught her attention.  She looked up, and spotted a flock of swanna but a moment before they noticed her and began to spiral down for a landing.  Obviously there would be something important on their minds; swanna weren't generally in the habit of randomly chatting up passers-by, so Hildred waited patiently as the largest and most fully-plumed of the lot landed before her.

 _“[Good morning, Hildred.  We hope we find you well,]”_ rather than allowing Hildred to follow up with her own greeting, the swanna then swept on to the problem on his mind with barely any hesitation.   _“[We came across an injured human yesterday who is in need of more...  Complicated aid than what we were able to offer.  His group is waiting at the outpost east of here, if you were to guide them to your home then we would not have to worry for their safety.]”_

 _“Show me,”_ Hildred took a step forward, eager to get on the move.

The flock leader nodded and spread his wings.   _“[Here, we will get there quicker if I carry you,]”_ he lifted into the air and came to hover over her head, legs held just low enough for Hildred to catch hold of.

 _“Are you sure I won't be too much weight?”_ Hildred hesitated as she watched the swanna hovering over her head.

 _“[I am more than strong enough,]”_ the swanna replied, hovering a little lower. _“[Hurry, the sooner the human receives help, the better.]”_

 _“Very well,”_ Hildred reached up and wrapped a paw around each of the swanna's legs.

The swanna inhaled deeply and beat his wings even harder.  Hildred began to lift off the ground, slowly at first, and with ever-increasing speed as they got higher and higher.  The rest of the flock rose with them, queueing up in their normal formation once their leader had the wind beneath his wings.

Treetops passed beneath her feet at a good speed, and Hildred spent a while watching them pass before looking up at the swanna, _“You mentioned that this human was in need of more complicated aid.  Just how badly was he hurt?”_

 _“[A head wound, from what I could see.  He did not wake in all the time I was with the group, and on top of all that he has been afflicted with a malady of the spirit, one that prevented our healing powers from working on him,]”_ the swanna replied.   _“[I am unsure how he came to be that way.  They seem to be foreigners, as his companions had no knowledge of the dangers of this land when I asked them about how he came to be wounded.]”_

The fact that the swanna had so obviously danced around using the word “fairy” did not slip past Hildred unnoticed. _“I take it they overheard you when you mentioned them?”_ she ventured.

 _“[They were harassing us all night,]”_ the muscles behind his beak tensed to show his annoyance.   _“[Throwing stones, making noise.  Seems they’ve gotten a tad more sensitive as of late.]”_

 _“Still sounds like they weren't as mad as they could've gotten,”_ Hildred noted.  Though the fairies weren't above harassing their fellow Pokemon, they usually didn't attempt real harm unless something was done to make them truly angry.

 _“[Yes and seeing this human sent beyond their clutches may do just that,]”_ the swanna took a moment to check his course, then tilted his wings slightly to the right.   _“[We will be flying south to the lands across the water later today, to spend some time with a few of our sister flocks who call that region home.  It will be nice to dance with them again.]”_

 _“You're certainly turning this in your favor,”_ Hildred smiled and nodded her approval of the plan.   _“By the time you return they may very well have forgotten all about your involvement.”_

 _“[That's the idea,]”_ a slight smile came to the swanna's face as well.

The sun was nearing its zenith by the time they arrived at the clearing.  Hildred spotted the blue length of a gyarados through the trees as the swanna spiralled down, and the vibrant mane of a pyroar next.  The human's deep orange shirt and red hair made him easily visible against the verdant grass of the clearing, and even from this distance Hildred could see that he was injured.

Despite the long flight and size of his passenger, the swanna set Hildred down as if she barely weighed anything at all and came to land beside her.  He gave the group a cordial nod of greeting, then introduced his guest.   _“[This is Hildred, we met her as we were flying back here.  She lives at a large human settlement and will be able to lead you there,]”_ he extended a wing toward Hildred as he gave the introduction, then tucked it back at his side when finished.

 _“[The others from our party should be back soon,]”_ the gyarados rumbled, raising his head a bit higher to get a better look at Hildred.

 _“[You're an aura reader, aren't you?]”_ the pyroar added.   _“[If you could take a look at him while we wait, we would be grateful.]”_

 _“We should hurry, but I'll take a look,”_ Hildred crossed the clearing quickly with her long strides.  She knelt beside the human once she reached him, and took a brief look at his physical condition before examining his aura in more detail.

 _“[My flock and I will search the area for your comrades,]”_ the swanna raised his wings and nodded to his flock, who raised their wings in unison and took off as he did.

Hildred's left ear twitched at the sound of the swannas' wings, but she kept her eyes on the human as they disappeared among the trees.  Even without focusing her power she could see that there was something very wrong with his aura; it was dark, murky, and it seemed to be writhing like a living thing. _“Yes, we should get moving as soon as possible.  It's no wonder the swanna were unable to help him,”_ she shrugged the pack from her shoulders, and began to undo the clip that held her cloak in place. _“I see...”_ Hildred closed her eyes and focused her powers, then opened them to get a better look.   _“Despair.  Fear.  Doubt.  I help treat things of this nature back at the university, and this is one of the worst cases I’ve seen yet.”_

 _“[But he can still be saved, can’t he?]”_ the pyroar’s face was tense with worry and exhaustion, but his voice still held hope for the promised help to come.

 _“He should at least have a chance if we get him back to my home in good time,”_ Hildred looked up at the sound of rustling leaves near the edge of the clearing, and watched as a mienshao emerged from the tree line to hurry toward them.

 _“[The swanna told me it was time to leave,]”_ the mienshao held his forepaws daintily before him even at the pace he was moving at, and he only slowed once he had reached his human’s side.  He turned to Hildred, and gave her a small bob of the head in greeting, _“[They said a lucario would get us to the safe place, thank you for helping us.]”_

 _“My pleasure,”_ Hildred replied, returning a polite nod of her own.   _“How many more are in your party?  The sooner we move out, the better,”_ Hildred set the cloak on the grass beside her and turned again to the human.

 _“[Just Mourvedre, now,]”_ the gyarados replied, his eyes following Hildred as she lifted his human's right arm and began to roll up the sleeve.   _“[He can fly, so he should get back quickly once the swanna find him.]”_

Hildred nodded to acknowledge his answer, and tucked the sleeve into itself once she got it past the human's elbow.  The skin of the inner elbow was red and somewhat swollen, as the set of bite marks that now marred it had become infected from lack of proper cleaning.  Combined with what she could see of the head wound, it was not surprising that the human was now running a fever.   _“Where did he get these bite marks?”_ Hildred held the human's arm up for the others to see as she spoke.

 _“[I...  Was trying to drag him to safety when that happened,]”_ the pyroar hung his head in shame.

_“And the head wound?”_

The coarse, deep caw of a honchkrow interrupted the gyarados as he was about to reply, and they all looked up to watch as the final group member fluttered into the clearing.

 _“[I'm here, are we ready to leave?]”_ he was breathless from his hasty return, but keen and alert all the same.

 _“[Yes, we are all ready,]”_ the gyarados brought his back low to the ground to allow for easier boarding.   _“[Miss Hildred will direct us from here.]”_

Hildred nodded, then slid her cloak beneath the man's torso and wrapped it around him.  Once his arms were wrapped within the cloak to keep them safely out of the way, she took him in her arms and climbed onto the gyarados's back.  There she settled herself just behind his enormous head, where she would be able to hold on to him and his human more easily.

The others followed suit as the swanna landed around them, ready to say their goodbyes.

 _“[A safe journey to you, and swift return to health for your human friend,]”_ the flock leader said, raising a wing in farewell as he stood before group.

 _“[You take care as well, and thank you!]”_ the mienshao called from his perch on the gyarados’s back.

 _“[If we happen to meet again, don’t hesitate to ask for a favor in return,]”_ the gyarados added.

With their goodbyes said and the group gathered on the gyarados’s back, both parties lifted off and took to the skies above.  The swanna turned to the southeast and were soon lost from sight, while Hildred directed the gyarados toward the southwest.

 _“By the way,”_ Hildred spoke up once they were well underway, having finished with making sure that they were on-course.   _“Things were so rushed on the ground, I didn’t get to ask your names.”_

The honchkrow drew level with her and tipped his beak in a more formal greeting, _“[I am Mourvedre, the gyarados is Cobalt, Regulus is the pyroar, and Poise is the mienshao.]”_

 _“It’s a pleasure to meet you all,”_ Hildred replied.   _“And what about the human?  Surely he has a name as well.”_

Silence was the reply as Cobalt, Regulus, and Poise pretended that they hadn’t heard her question, improbable as such as such a thing was.  Mourvedre was visibly agitated, neck feathers ruffled and wingbeat suddenly unsteady.  He dropped a few feet, then recovered himself as quickly as he could and tried to act as if nothing out of the ordinary had just been said.

 _“Interesting,”_ Hildred remained where she sat, facing straight ahead.

Mourvedre was silent as tried to find the right words.   _“[We are most grateful for your aid, but...  We are unsure that we can trust you with such information just yet,]”_ he said finally.

Hildred allowed them to stew for a few moments before making her reply, _“Very well.  I will be very interested to hear the whole story from you once we get there.”_

* * *

They sighted the forest’s edge and the large clusters of buildings that lay beyond it many hours later, as the sun was beginning to dip low toward the horizon.  The closeness of their destination spurred Cobalt onward, and he picked up the pace in his eagerness to see his trainer healed.  Mourvedre took off from his perch on one of Cobalt's dorsal spines and flew on his own to lighten the gyarados's load.

The forest's edge rushed up below, then gave way to a line of large standing stones cut from blue slate.  A large complex of various buildings, walkways, and gardens spread before them now, a stark difference from the dense green canopy of the forest.

 _“Land by the building to our left,”_ Hildred's voice rang clear in their heads.

Cobalt turned accordingly and began his descent to the smooth lawn that lay before the indicated building.  It was a large structure, three stories high and lined with windows.  A few humans in white doctors’ coats appeared in the nearest doorway as Cobalt landed on the grass.

Hildred slid off Cobalt’s back the moment he came to a halt and began to walk toward the building before them.  Cobalt paused to allow the rest of the group to disembark, then followed Hildred as well.  He couldn’t resist giving a quiet sigh of relief; it was good to finally have all that weight off his back, and to have finally reached their destination.

 _“I know you might already be aware of this, but depending on how much damage he’s suffered, there might not be much left of your trainer that we can save,”_ Hildred said, turning her head to look at them as she walked.  

 _“[We realized that was a possibility when he didn’t wake up,]”_ Cobalt rumbled, his head drifting close to the ground in sadness.   _“[Please, do all you can to save him.]”_

 _“You don't have to worry about that.  I just wanted to be sure that you were prepared for the worst, should it happen,”_ Hildred continued onto the concrete walkway that lead to the doorway, her long strides forcing Poise and Regulus to move at a trot to keep up.   _“Wait here.  I will return once I’ve given him to our doctors.”_

Regulus came to a halt near the middle of the walk and sat down, his eyes following Hildred as she reached the door and began speaking with the doctors there.  He fidgeted as Poise settled beside him, leaning one shoulder against Regulus’s own and folding his forepaws neatly before him.  A quiet flutter of wings and Mourvedre was on the ground, keen red eyes focused on the group at the doorway.  

Cobalt came to rest just behind them, his tail trailing on the grass beside the walk.  He could tell that Mourvedre didn’t trust their hosts yet by the way he fixated on them, and he couldn’t blame him; after what Lysandre had done in Kalos, it wouldn’t be a surprise to find that even the humans from a different region had heard about it.  They would have to be ready to take Lysandre and run if things took a wrong turn.

They watched as Hildred disappeared into the shadow of the doorway with Lysandre, and hoped that this would not be the last time they saw him.  Several moments later the lucario appeared again, her arms empty and relaxed at her sides.  She paused on the threshold and nodded to someone inside, then allowed the door to swing shut and started toward the group.

 _“Thank you for waiting,”_ Hildred said as she came to a halt before them.   _“The doctors will begin surgery soon, and I will be needed as well to deal with the aura problem.  Do you see that building across the way?”_ she pointed to a building in the distance, across the lawns and landscape features, that reflected the fading sunlight with dozens of glass panels. _“That’s the visiting center, where the university's trainers spend time with their larger Pokemon.  It contains our Pokemon Center as well, so you'll be able to rest up and get food and water there while you wait.”_

 _“[How long will it take to heal him?]”_ Regulus got to his feet but remained where he stood.

 _“It depends on how extensive the damage is,”_ Hildred replied.   _“It would be pointless to give an estimate before we know more, but rest assured that I will tell you myself when there is news.”_

Regulus's head drooped slightly.  It made sense; giving too hopeful an estimate would only lead to disappointment when the expectation was not met.  With nothing more to say, he turned and began to walk toward the visiting center.  The others stared at Hildred a few moments longer, then turned to follow him.

They waited until they were well out of earshot before they began conversing amongst themselves.

 _“[What do we do now?]”_ Mourvedre grumbled from atop one of Cobalt's head spines.   _“[Just sit around and wait?]”_

 _“[That's all we can do at this point,]”_ Poise replied.   _“[They have the skill to take care of him, it's what he needs after we've done such a miserable job ourselves.]”_

 _“[So what comes next?]”_ Regulus still held the lead at a subdued walk.   _“[We don’t even know where we are, where home is.  Not that we can go back...]”_ his voice trailed off, but the others could easily guess at what he was thinking now: what would they do if Lysandre didn’t survive in the end?

It was a horrible possibility to think of, but there was no avoiding it given their circumstances.  They had no idea what to do with themselves if Lysandre died; they had each known him for years, and he had been such a big part of their lives for so long that imagining life without him seemed impossible.  The good times they’d shared seemed so far in the past now, back before thoughts of creating Team Flare had even entered Lysandre’s head.  Back when he was happy.  They just wanted to see him happy again...

Regulus looked up just in time to avoid walking into a bush, and noted that the building they were bound for was still a good distance away.  He took a long breath, then released it in a short sigh and walked around to the pathway beyond.  The concrete felt rough and hard beneath his paws after the cushion of the lawn, and for the first time since they arrived Regulus raised his head and looked around at the scenery.

The hedges he'd just walked around hemmed a small courtyard with the statue of a trainer and her talonflame at its center, the pair seemingly plucked from a moment in time and frozen in stone just as the bird settled on her thick leather glove.  Back toward the forest were the standing stones, their blue slate faces in stark contrast to the dark emerald of the forest behind them.  Regulus lifted his nose and sampled the light breeze that stirred the hedges; it was good clean air like they had back home, but with the scent of forest and river rather than that of stone and snow coming off of nearby mountains.  He could see that the buildings were built in an older style as well, similar to the university that Lysandre had gone to in his younger days.

 _“[Cobalt,]”_ Regulus lowered his head, and he turned back toward their destination.   _“[Do you remember when Anatole took us with him to the university?]”_

 _“[Yes,]”_ Cobalt nodded.   _“[I remember.  He enjoyed every moment.]”_

 


	5. Morning

The visiting center had everything Hildred mentioned and more. It was a large structure built like a greenhouse, its floor a carpet of grass and its furnishings a mix of greenery and picnic tables. A few trainers lounged or milled about with their Pokemon, either quietly relaxing in the fading sun or engaging in play with their companions. The Pokemon Center was easy to spot at the back of the building, as it sat at the end of a wide avenue of open grass struck through by a cobblestone path that ran straight down the middle of the structure.

A nurse in the typical white and pink uniform was manning the counter, with another lucario and a blissey to assist in her work. She looked up at the group with a warm smile when they approached, her eyes scanning the immediate area for signs of their trainer. The search was inevitably in vain, and the nurse's smile faded somewhat when she noticed this.

"One moment please," she held up her index finger to mirror her request, then hurried over to the lucario and gently tapped it on the shoulder.

The lucario paused in its task of organizing medicine bottles and looked up at the nurse.

"Could you do a bit of translation for me?" she asked quietly.

The lucario gave her a silent nod and returned with her to the counter, where he rested his forearms on the counter and leaned forward. " _[Hello,]"_  he said aloud. " _[Is there something you need? Where is your human?]"_

It was a genuine surprise to hear a lucario speak aloud after their experience with Hildred. " _[Ah,]"_  Regulus's reply had temporarily eluded him due to surprise, and his mouth remained slightly agape as he tried to find his answer. " _[Our human was hurt, so we were told to come here,]"_  he said finally.

" _[You were out in the forest?]"_  the lucario asked as he took a closer look at the group.

Regulus glanced down at himself and realized how ragged they must all look; his front paws alone were dirty and the fur somewhat matted from the journey, and he shuddered to think of what his mane must have looked like. " _[Yes,]"_  he raised his head to look at the lucario again. " _[We were blown into the forest by a storm, and then Hildred found us and brought us here.]"_

" _[Alright, just a moment,]"_  the lucario held up a paw and turned to the nurse. He stared intently at the nurse, who nodded as if he were speaking to her.

This strange, silent exchange went on for about a minute, at the end of which the nurse nodded to the lucario and said, "Alright, I think I've got it now. Can you ask if they have their Poke Balls with them?"

The lucario turned to the group, but they had already heard and understood what the nurse meant. Mourvedre thought on the question for a moment; as he recalled, Lysandre kept the Poke Balls in an inner pocket of his overcoat... Mourvedre's beak fell open at the realization, " _[The coat... We left it at the outpost!]"_

" _[You're right!]"_  Cobalt added. " _[We forgot them in the forest,]"_  he said, turning to the lucario.

" _[Alright,]"_  the lucario nodded. He turned again to the nurse and relayed the information in the same silent manner as before.

"We'll just use Temporary Balls, then," the nurse said, nodding once the lucario had finished. She disappeared behind the counter for a moment, and came back up with four grey-colored Poke Balls in her hands. "You can hop into these so we can use the machine, then hop straight out again," she set the Temporary Balls in a line on the counter for them to use and took a step back.

Cobalt looked down at the others, then moved toward the counter. The others followed suit, and together they pressed the central buttons on the Poke Balls and were taken inside. Soon they felt themselves be refreshed as the nurse put them into the machine, a relief after their arduous journey.

The nurse released them once they were finished healing and put the Temporary Balls back beneath the counter. "I think there might be a few groomers still on-duty if you'd like to get cleaned up," she offered.

They found that there was a groomer on hand, and the man was happy to clean them up once the nurse explained their situation to him. Good food came after, and soon they were resting together as the sun left the sky outside. The university's hospitality was remarkable; they had never expected to be treated so well. It was such a stark difference from the way they'd been traveling, and yet they still had reason to worry; still no word of Lysandre's condition, no idea what they would do next.

Difficult as it was, all they could do now was wait and hope.

* * *

Pencil hovered over blank paper as it had countless times earlier that night. The clock showed that it was 3 a.m., and Professor Augustine Sycamore had not gotten a wink of sleep that night. He sighed and set the pencil on his desk, then watched as it rolled to the edge and tumbled to the floor below.

Four days... Had it really been four days since the event? Three days spent trying to clean up the mess, trying to avoid thinking about what had been lost, and the midnight that had drifted by without notice marked the beginning of the fourth day.

Sleep was still so difficult, and what little he'd managed to get in the form of exhaustion-driven catnaps obviously wasn't enough. Every time he tried to lay still and wind down he'd start thinking about the incident, what he could've—and should've—done to prevent it. And he still had the appointment with Serena to keep, once she reached Couriway Town. She would get there soon, he was sure; Serena was one of the most advanced trainers he'd had the privilege of teaching in a long while, it should have been no surprise that her journey around Kalos would go so quickly. Her arrival was probably down to a matter of days at this rate, and he would have to be ready. Ready to greet her with a smile and words of encouragement, ready to support her after all she'd done. It wasn't his place to take that triumph away from her by showing his grief.

Augustine set his forearms on the desk and rested his head on them. His body felt tired, and his mind fuzzy from fatigue, but he just wasn't prepared for the pain that trying to sleep would bring, and the morning that would come after... Not tired enough, not yet. It shouldn't have been a surprise that he wouldn't be able to start on that report at all, given the circumstances. But here he was, unable to move forward and unwilling to surrender himself to the sleep that he needed so badly.

The sound of his heel tapping wearily against the hardwood floor echoed through his bedroom; his desk held the only source of illumination here, and it was quiet in the absence of the small horde of Pokemon that usually accompanied him up to bed. He'd come up here in the hopes that he would become tired enough to actually use his bed, but it seemed there would be no such luck tonight. His mind was still too awake to simply shut off once he closed his eyes, and now he was feeling restless.

Perhaps an outing and some fresh air would help.

Augustine sat up and shoved himself back from the desk, the chair making a loud scraping noise as it slid over the hardwood floor. He wanted to see the sun rise over the mountains, and there was just enough time to get to such a place before dawn. The paper sat forgotten on the desk as Augustine walked to his closet, seeking one of his heavy down-stuffed jackets to keep off the cold. He shrugged off the wrinkled lab coat and slipped into the gray jacket he'd chosen, head inclined slightly for better ease in adjusting the collar. It was then that he recalled what shoes he was wearing, the usual brown loafers as always; they wouldn't do for a chilly mountain visit, he would have to wear something else.

The jacket hung loose on his body; it felt two sizes too big now that he wore it again, even though it fit perfectly when he bought it. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten recently. Food just didn't seem appetizing anymore, to the point that severe hunger pangs were needed before he even considered eating something. He picked out a pair of brown hiking boots and moved over to the bed to take a seat and put them on.

Once he was more appropriately dressed for a visit to the mountains, Augustine stood and left his bedroom, closing the door quietly behind himself as he went. Down the single flight of stairs was the third floor of the lab facility, the floor that contained his office and those of several other scientists who pursued their own research under his guidance. Only one of the offices was in use at the moment, and Augustine moved past it as quietly as possible so as not to disturb its occupant. He didn't feel like socializing with anyone at the moment, especially when they would probably tell him to go to bed—he would do so at his own leisure, when he was finally ready for it.

The office shared by Sina and Dexio was empty as well, since his two top assistants were away on business checking up on the various other students that were spread throughout the Kalos region. It had been at Augustine's request, and they knew part of the reason was to keep them out of his hair while he was feeling out of sorts like this, but they set out regardless. They would probably be back to check on him soon, too.

Augustine slipped into the elevator and pressed the button for the first floor. No one would catch him if he hurried, plus there weren't many people around at this hour to begin with. He would be back before anyone noticed he was gone. He found that the first floor was deserted—as expected—and continued on to the conservatory.

It was quiet in the conservatory, as most of its residents were fast asleep so early in the morning. Augustine paused by the shelf that held the Poke Balls that belonged to the residents of the conservatory and picked out the one he was searching for: that of his own charizard, Charlemagne. With Charlemagne's Poke Ball in hand, Augustine turned to enter the conservatory, and stopped short upon finding that his path was blocked by something large and blue.

Starla grumbled at Augustine in the semi-darkness and bent her head down to get a better look at him, yellow eyes glinting in the dim light. The garchomp had been especially worried about him during these past few days, and had expressed as much by constantly following the professor around like a large blue shadow. She would be hard to shake now that she knew he was up and about.

"Hey Star," Augustine placed his free hand on Starla's rounded nose with a small smile. "You want to come with?"

The garchomp let out a short, grumbling sigh and nodded her head.

"Alright, let's get Charl and go, then," Augustine's hand dropped from Starla's nose, and he waited expectantly for the sand dragon to move out of the way.

Starla stared down at him for a few long moments, then voiced a low wuffling sigh and stood aside.

Charlemagne was sleeping on a small stand of rocks when they found him, his large body curled tightly enough that he occupied the entirety of the rock's surface without a centimeter to spare. The charizard's nose twitched when they drew near, and he lifted his head to see what his trainer might be doing in the conservatory at such an hour.

"We're visiting the mountains this morning," Augustine whispered, trying to avoid waking the other Pokemon.

The charizard gave Augustine a quiet grunt of understanding and slid off the rocks. Charlemagne had been concerned for Augustine as well—just as all the Pokemon in the lab were—but he was still less insistent than Starla was. He looked closely at the professor once he was on the ground, then looked to Starla from over Augustine's head.

A quiet grumble was all Charlemagne got in reply; perhaps Starla was willing to put up with this little venture because she thought it might tire Augustine out enough for him to get some real rest.

Augustine decided that they had better get going before either of them changed their minds and tried to force him to go to bed instead. He led them out through one of the conservatory's service entrances and climbed onto Charlemagne's back once they were out in the open; Starla would be able to fly by their side at her leisure, as she refused to return to her Poke Ball when Augustine offered her the option.

Even at this early hour the lights of Lumiose obscured most of the starlight. Augustine looked up at the sky as Charlemagne's muscles tensed beneath him. Would the stars be out by the time they got to the mountains around the Pokemon League? He hoped so. Diantha had told him many times of the glorious starscape that spread across the nighttime sky above the Kalos Pokemon League, and he had been meaning to make a trip to see it for some time anyway.

Charlemagne surged upward, powerful legs bracing against the pavement as he took off. Powerful wings caught the air and lifted them upward. Within moments they were in flight, bound for the Pokemon League to the southeast.

* * *

Hildred pushed the door to the visiting center open and stepped onto the gray cobblestone path that ran throughout the building's interior. She had news for the group who had just come in the afternoon before, having just received it from the doctors herself.

They could be found easily enough; Hildred remembered what their auras looked like, and her ability allowed her to spot them through solid objects. She closed her eyes, focused her power, and looked around the visiting center. There, they were huddled behind a cluster of decorative shrubs near the indoor Pokemon Center.

Mourvedre was the only member of the group who was still awake at this hour, and he looked up at Hildred when she rustled the shrubs in her passing. She noticed that it took him a few moments to differentiate her from the lucario who assisted at the Pokemon Center, and he became agitated when he realized who it was.

" _[What's wrong? Did something happen?]"_  the honchkrow hopped off his perch atop Regulus's back and landed before her.

The movement roused Regulus, who yawned sleepily and looked around. He got up when he noticed Hildred, disturbing Poise in the process.

" _I'm here to tell you that the most dangerous part is over, and that your human is still undergoing treatment,"_  Hildred replied as the rest of the group woke up.

Their relief was visible both in their postures and their auras, but Hildred noted that some worry still lingered just behind it.

" _[Will we be able to see him soon?]"_  it was Poise who spoke up this time, arms tucked before his chest in typical mienshao fashion as he stared up at her.

" _It depends on how well he takes to the treatment. It could be a few days to a week, we don't know yet,"_  Hildred replied. " _And now that we have that out of the way, there are still a few topics that we must discuss,"_  she turned and gestured for them to follow her as she led the way out of the visiting center.

They hesitated, probably guessing what she wanted to talk with them about, but followed regardless.

Hildred led them out and across the lawns at a brisk pace, continuing on even past the point where the lawns ended and on to what looked like pastureland. Out here the sole source of illumination came from the moon, casting everything in a soft, silver light. After some time the black mass of the forest came into view with the standing stones hovering before it, their surfaces seemingly aglow in the moonlight. A cluster of buildings rose in the distance farther along the line of stones, their windows and doorways dark in the early morning.

A small stand of rocks poked up above the turf nearby, several of them flat enough to serve as a decently-sized seat. Hildred made her way over to them and took a seat on the closest flat-topped stone, eyes closed as she waited patiently for the group to make themselves comfortable on the turf before her.

Once she could no longer hear them shifting about on the grass, Hildred opened her eyes, her power revealing their auras in full clarity. " _Now,"_  Hildred began. " _As you have probably guessed by now, the University is not opposed to helping those in need. However, your reluctance to tell me your human's name makes me extremely suspicious of you and the circumstances that led you into the forest. I will not tolerate threats to my home. Now, answers. And I expect the truth,"_  Hildred crossed her arms before her chest and glared down at them as she waited for their answer.

They hesitated, each trying to decide on whether they should tell her the truth, their auras swirling in a mix of colors as they worked it out. It was Cobalt who spoke up first: " _[To put it bluntly, we don't know what he will do once he wakes up...]"_

Hildred gave him a short, annoyed sigh in reply. " _So you're asking me to wait and see if he becomes a threat?"_

" _[We will take him away ourselves if he does,]"_  Cobalt added.

" _So he can go threaten someone else?"_  Hildred leaned back slightly on the rock, arms still crossed over her chest. " _You must realize that he will have to take responsibility for whatever he's done, which you still have yet to explain."_

Cobalt lowered his head to look at Mourvedre, who made eye contact briefly before looking away; evidently the gyarados was expecting his companion to take up the talking from there. The honchkrow's head twitched to and fro as he tried to find something to focus on, then finally he opened his beak and let out a long sigh before speaking himself. " _[Parts of it are hard to believe. We wouldn't have believed it ourselves had it not happened before our eyes.]"_

" _Would you have believed the stories of Suritaine and its fairies had you not experienced them for yourself?"_  Hildred replied.

The question got a coarse, humorless laugh out of the honchkrow, " _[No, I suppose not,]"_  Mourvedre fell silent for a few moments as he ordered the story in his head, his wings rustling quietly every so often as he thought. Finally, he nodded to himself and looked up at Hildred. " _[I suppose it all started about a year ago. One of the organizations he was sending money to, the sort set up to help people who need it, it turned out that the people in charge of it were stealing money from it and not much was ending up with the people who needed it in the first place. First he was angry when he found this out, then depressed. It had happened to him before you see, years before that, so to have it happen again...]"_  Mourvedre rustled his wings as he recalled something more. " _[He said that even if he threw his entire fortune away to help those in need, it would be a futile effort in the end because of the greed of others._

" _[We did our best to help him feel better, but it seemed as if nothing would console him. In the end it was his cousin who helped pull him out of the depression, and by that time he'd changed... The business with Team Flare started, and the ultimate weapon. He wanted to wipe the slate clean because he'd lost all hope for the future,]"_  Mourvedre fell silent and looked at the ground as he mulled over the events himself.

" _[But even though he was driven by the new goal, he took no pleasure in it,]"_ Poise added. " _[He hid it from most, but he was suffering the whole time over what he had to do—what he thought he had to do,]"_  the mienshao fiddled with the long fur of his forelimbs as he ordered what he wanted to say next. " _[We were so desperate to see him happy again that we helped him. It was useless in the end anyway, our strength failed him and he was beaten. He decided that he should die for his failure and gave us the chance to escape without him, but we couldn't leave him behind. We forced him to come with us, and he was injured during our escape,]"_  Poise's whiskers drooped as he spoke, and his aura radiated shame in Hildred's sight. " _[It's our fault he's suffering now, because we forced him to come with us.]"_

Hildred could see that the others in the group shared Poise's sentiment, and she left them in silence as she thought the whole thing over. The information was a bit vague, but she knew they were telling the truth by their auras and they'd given her enough to reveal that their human's actions had been very serious. It was also clear that these Pokemon had a great love for their human and would do likely do anything they could to help him. Hildred tapped the fingers of one paw against the stone she sat upon as she mulled it over. They had mentioned something definite, this Team Flare group. She had never heard of them herself, but the Dean would probably be able to find information on them for her.

" _Well,"_  Hildred began. " _I suppose we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"_

" _[Wait, you—You won't turn him in right away?]"_  Regulus asked.

" _I don't know yet,"_  Hildred replied. " _I need time to think on it,"_  she slid off the rock and started back toward the University, gesturing for the rest of the group to follow.

There was something else that bothered Hildred besides the troubling reputation of their human. She dwelled on it as she strode ahead, leading the others back to the University proper. Something odd had happened with his aura while she was working to soothe the negative emotions that ate at it; it had suddenly snapped as if something had broken, then normalized until she could find nothing wrong with it. It had been unexpected, to say the least. Hildred had been considering whether she should mention it to them, but decided against it; no need to worry them when it might result in nothing in the end.

In any case, she would speak to the Dean on the matter once she'd gotten some sleep herself. He would know what to do.

* * *

As Diantha had said, the stars were beautiful.

Augustine lay on the grass of the League plateau and stared up at the starry swath that spread above him. The Jeweled Road was out in its full glory tonight, stretching across the sky above and off beyond each horizon and looking just as bright as its namesake would. He'd never seen it in such vibrancy and detail, it made him wish that he'd come out here sooner, and without such an unhappy excuse as he had now.

Starla and Charlemagne had curled around him, creating a living nest of sorts with their bodies that provided more than enough warmth, such that the jacket now sat crumpled at Augustine's side. He lifted his HoloCaster and allowed its StarGazer app to point out the noteworthy stars and constellations to be found above him—the Hunter's Belt, the Bear Mother, the Great Eagle... After a few moments of this his arms dropped again, as he'd just realized what the device now was: another reminder. Augustine let out a small sigh and shoved the HoloCaster back into his breast pocket, then let his arms fall to the grass at his sides. He was even more tired after clinging to Charlemagne's back during the flight over, and now it was starting to take its toll.

There was no stopping the thoughts that tumbled through his mind as he stared up at the stars, he was too tired from the flight to hold them back. He still couldn't believe what Lysandre had tried to do. Even the method itself seemed ludicrous: an ancient weapon concealed in the middle of a sleepy coastal town that could only be awoken by a key that hung from the neck of a forever-wandering fallen king. It was the stuff of fairy tales. And yet, there it had happened in Geosenge... The legend was real, and Lysandre...

Augustine's mind stumbled over Serena's breathless recounting of what had happened within Lysandre Labs and Team Flare's secret headquarters, trying to find some trace of the old Lysandre he once knew. To think he would have changed so much, that he would resort to such extreme measures... He hadn't paid enough attention; he'd seen the warning signs, that Lysandre's outlook on life and the future were gradually darkening, and sat by doing nothing. At the time he'd managed to convince himself that Lysandre was fine, that he was just hitting an emotional low and would bounce back up again. Oh, how wrong he'd been.

Something stood out to him though, even through the fog of exhaustion. Back in Lysandre Labs, after Serena had defeated every member of Team Flare present, Lysandre had given her the chance to end it all there. A coin flip for the fate of the world, a game of luck that Serena had won in the end. It was such a strange thing to do, one that could be suspected as a ploy to buy time, but then Xerosic took full credit for the activation of the weapon rather than simply saying that the betrayal had been in Team Flare's plan all along.

Why? If it was a lie then why conceal it? What did one lie told to a meddling teenager matter when everything was going to burn anyway? And why do such a strange thing in the first place?

It just... To Augustine's exhausted mind it didn't add up. Would everything have stopped there in the lab had Xerosic not interfered? He tried to continue the line of thought, but he had already drifted too close to proper sleep and gave it up. Too tired to think clearly now, and the nonsensical anarchy of dreams was already beginning to take over.

The stars began to blur and fade as Augustine drifted in and out of a light sleep, and they were eventually obscured altogether by the green length of Charlemagne's wing as the charizard extended it to shelter him. Above and unseen, the sky began to lighten as dawn drew near, and the brilliant starscape was gradually washed away by the featureless pale blue of day, like sand drawings before the tide.

It was still hard to believe what happened, and the days that followed seemed to have an equally insecure place in reality. His half-conscious state made it difficult to think, but he managed to wonder just what this next day would bring, and whether anything would change.

Would life ever feel normal again?


	6. An Urgent Message

Dean Beirne glanced up at the sound of a knock on his office door, then checked his desk calendar for his appointment schedule; no official meetings at this time, so it would probably be an impromptu visit from one of the campus employees. "Come in," he called, setting his pen aside for the moment.

The door opened to reveal Hildred. She nodded respectfully to him and shut the door behind herself once she had entered, then came to stand before the Dean's desk.

"Good afternoon, Hildred. What's on your mind?" Beirne noted that Hildred seemed uneasy, a state given away by her stiffly-held shoulders and the constant shifting of weight from one foot to the other. He stiffened slightly himself and prepared for potential bad news; it took a lot to get Hildred rattled like this.

" _Something I found on my last patrol,"_  she began. " _I don't know if you've heard, but last night I brought a human and his Pokemon out of the forest. The human is in the medical complex right now being treated for his injuries, and his Pokemon are in the visiting center."_

"Sounds fairly routine as far as rescues go," Beirne interlaced his fingers and rested his hands on the desk before him as he stared up at Hildred. "So what's the problem?"

" _It's the identity of the human, sir. The doctors found no form of identification on him, and his Pokemon have refused to tell me his name, but I managed to get them to tell me a bit about what happened. Something about a weapon and an organization called Team Flare. They were vague, but what they did tell me sounded very serious,"_  her ears tilted back when she noticed Beirne's inward alarm via his aura. " _You know who they are?"_

"When did they get here?" Beirne asked. He had to admit, the aura-reading ability could be annoying sometimes, he'd been trying to keep from worrying her over the matter.

" _I brought them in last night, as I said, but I don't know how long they've been in Suritaine. No more than a day or so, the human wouldn't have survived had it been more,"_  Hildred was focusing her full attention on Beirne now, having been alerted by his recognition of the organization earlier. " _They did a poor job taking care of him, but not for lack of trying. They clearly have a lot of love and admiration for their human, and I detected no fear of him in their auras."_

"What did the human look like, and what species were the Pokemon who accompanied him?"

" _The human was tall, thin, and with red hair. The Pokemon were a gyarados, a pyroar, a mienshao, and a honchkrow."_

"And what did you think of them?" Beirne leaned forward slightly as he waited for her to answer. He knew enough of Team Flare to recognize the description of the man and his Pokemon team.

" _Not malicious, as far as I can tell. Misguided, despite their good intentions."_

"Hmmm," Beirne's gaze left Hildred and drifted down to settle on the desktop before him. This was certainly an unexpected development, to think that man would end up in Suritaine of all places... "I want you to keep this to yourself for now," he said, dark brown eyes flicking back up to Hildred's face as he spoke. "Treat him like a normal guest. I'll take care of the rest."

" _Understood,"_  Hildred nodded and took a step back. " _Let me know if you need me to do anything else."_

Hildred had scarcely left the office when Beirne got to his feet and shut the curtains on the window behind his desk. When he was sure that not even the barest hint of light could get through, he went on to the door and listened for anyone who might be loitering outside. No movement to be heard. Beirne locked the door and walked over to one of the bookshelves that lined the walls of his office.

The bookshelf itself was nothing out of the ordinary in appearance, being an old antique model that he had installed himself when he took up the position of Dean. Beirne reached up to the shelf above his head and put a hand on either side of the rectangular section, then pushed against the hard polished wood. There was a quiet click, and the section sank inward, prompting the section at chest height to drift forward like a drawer.

Dean Beirne slid the loose section out to its limit, revealing that the backmost portion had been blocked off and repurposed into a hidden storage space. Whether by design or some accident of chance, Anatole Lysandre had ended up in Suritaine, and on Beirne's campus of all places. Looker would want to know... Beirne reached into the cavity and retrieved a small handheld device, its case bare of any maker's mark and a dull grey in color.

* * *

Awareness came slowly as Augustine drifted up from the depths of sleep. The smooth green underside of Charlemagne's wing was the first thing he noticed, then the deep muffled breathing of the two dragons who now surrounded him. He reached up and rubbed the grit from his eyes, arching his back slightly to stretch his chest muscles as he took a deep breath.

Starla let out a wuffling growl upon hearing him stir and started to move away, allowing bright sunlight to reach Augustine for the first time that day.

A small hint of worry slipped to the front of his mind when Augustine noticed how brilliant the sunlight was—surely it couldn't be that late in the day already. One glance at his wristwatch confirmed his suspicion: eleven in the morning already, he'd been gone from the lab for far too long without telling anyone. His hand went to the pocket that held his Holo Caster and found that it was empty. Where was it? He patted each pocket to check for the device, his hair brushing the underside of Charlemagne's wing as he got to his feet. Still nothing. Augustine pushed Charlemagne's wing aside and checked the grass at his feet, thinking the device must have slipped out of his pocket while he was asleep.

Something hard tapped the side of his head while he searched, and Augustine looked up to find Starla standing over him, the Holo Caster suspended by its lanyard from her outstretched claw. She dropped it into his waiting hands with a quiet growl, as if apologizing for something she'd done. It only took him a few moments to realize what she meant, and Augustine gave her a slight glare before waking the Holo Caster up.

The home screen came up with a notification that there were fourteen new messages and twenty two missed calls waiting for him, all from the lab, Sina, Dexio, or a few of the other higher-ranked researchers. Augustine's heart sank; they must be worried sick about him after he ran off without telling anyone. He speed-dialed the number for his lab and hoped they hadn't gotten worried enough to go to the police yet.

"Professor Sycamore?" Sina's voice came loud and clear through the Holo Caster's speaker. "Where are you? Are you hurt?"

"No no, I'm fine," Augustine could almost hear the overly-loud lecture he was about to get from Sina even now. "I flew out to League Plateau for some star gazing and forgot to leave a note," he added quickly, hoping to head off the explosion before it had a chance to begin. "And then I was so tired that I dozed off for a few hours, I only woke up a couple minutes ago."  _And Starla took the Holo Caster away so it wouldn't wake me up when you guys called,_  he added silently. "But don't worry, I'll get back to the lab as soon as possible, we just need to fly back over there."

"Well at least you got some sleep..." it was a shocking reply from someone as excitable as Sina, which immediately caught Augustine's full attention. There was a long pause before she continued, "You don't have to come back right away, we just needed to know where you were. Remember to leave a note next time."

"Yeah I will, sorry," Augustine shifted his weight from one foot to the other, feeling guilty for making them worry.

"You need to take better care of yourself." Sina was certainly out of sorts if she could manage to be so subdued.

"Of course," Augustine looked down at the grass between his feet. "I'll do my best," he added quietly, well aware of how fragile a promise that was for him now.

"See you back at the lab!" Sina's voice regained a bit of her usual enthusiasm, perhaps because she believed he would be able to keep his promise.

"Right, see you then," Augustine hung up and put the Holo Caster away again. He would have to do his best, despite how he felt now.

Charlemagne nudged Augustine between his shoulder blades and offered the fallen jacket to him, which the professor accepted with a quiet "Thank you."

Augustine draped the jacket over one arm and looked toward the Pokemon League itself. The castle that contained it sparkled with hundreds of colored panes, a brilliant landmark in the midst of the plateau's grassy plane. A small town spread just beneath it, mostly inhabited by service employees who maintained the castle and the occasional up-and-coming challenger, but there would certainly be a place for Augustine to tidy up a bit before flying home. The bits of grass that had somehow found their way into his hair were starting to itch.

Starla lifted her nose to sample the air as the group entered the town, likely savoring the cooking smells that came from the quaint little restaurants and cafes that had been built there. It reminded Augustine that none of them had eaten at all that day, and though he still felt a bit ill when thinking of food he was sure that his two Pokemon were hungry. He wanted them to have something to eat before asking them to fly him back to the lab, and he would be able to freshen up a bit in the restroom once they were seated.

A woman dressed in dazzling white waved to him from farther down the town's main avenue, and Augustine returned with his own less-vigorous wave as he prepared himself for the chat to come. Diantha was smart and tended to pay attention to everything around her; he was sure that she would have something to say about his ragged appearance. Her gardevoir Titania was also attending and if Diantha didn't notice something amiss, her Pokemon definitely would.

"Good morning, Diantha," Augustine called once they were within comfortable speaking distance of each other. He noticed that her smile dimmed briefly when she got close enough to see him better and tried to continue on as if he had not seen it. "How are you today?"

"Doing very well, thank you," Diantha's smile did not waver this time as she spoke to him. "What brings you here?"

"Oh, just stargazing," the explanation sounded weak even in his own ears, especially with the sun beaming down like this. Augustine scratched the back of his neck, which was itching from the grass in his hair. "Last night, I mean. I just woke up a little while ago."

"Would you like to have some late breakfast with me, then? My treat."

"Well," Augustine hesitated. He didn't want to be rude, and his two Pokemon still needed to eat... "That sounds nice. You don't need to pay though, I can take care of our bill."

"I insist, Augustine. You paid last time, remember?"

In truth he couldn't remember whether he had or not at this point; he was still sleep-deprived despite getting a few hours in, and his thoughts felt a bit clouded even now. "Ah yes, of course. How silly of me," he gave Diantha an apologetic smile and followed her through the restaurant's entrance, doing his best to ignore Starla's growl of approval as they entered.

They were seated out on the patio by a smiling waitress almost immediately after entering, and soon they each had a steaming cup of coffee before them as they decided on their respective meals. The Pokemon arranged themselves around the table as they pleased, each sitting next to their trainer as they waited for their food.

Augustine opened the menu and looked over the breakfasts the cafe had to offer. Nothing seemed appealing even with his stomach empty as it was, though he was happy to see that they offered fresh-made meals for Pokemon, carnivorous or otherwise. Starla and Charlemagne would be guaranteed a good breakfast before they flew back to Lumiose.

"This place is famous for its crepes," Diantha looked up at Augustine as she spoke, the lower half of her face hidden behind the upheld menu.

"Hmm?" Augustine looked up—he'd been drifting off a bit, and her statement had snapped him back to full awareness for the time being. "Sorry."

"Their crepes," Diantha replied patiently.

"Oh, they're good are they?" he looked down at the menu again and resisted the urge to rub his eyes. "Do you recommend them?"

"Well I like them a lot myself," Diantha gave him her sunniest smile, and Augustine felt his spirits lift a little. "You could try them if you feel up to it."

"Alright," Augustine found the menu's crepes section and began to scan through it.  _Well, it's worth a shot..._  he thought to himself.

The waitress arrived soon after and received their orders: two carnivore breakfasts made from zoic meat for Starla and Charlemagne, a fruit breakfast for Titania, and two orders of crepes topped with fresh fruit for Diantha and Augustine.

"Excuse me," Augustine pushed himself to his feet as soon as the waitress was gone. "Need to freshen up," he gave Diantha an apologetic smile and gestured to the bits of grass that were stuck in his hair.

"Take your time," Diantha replied as Augustine made his way past.

Her Holo Caster was out as soon as he left her sight, her fingers tapping busily on the device's on-screen keypad:  **Why didn't you tell me Augustine was in such a state?**  She hit send and sat back in her chair to wait for the reply.

It came before Diantha had time to become impatient:  **We didn't think he would get this bad, and you know how he hates making you worry.**

Diantha closed her eyes and let out a slow sigh through her nose. Augustine was a dear friend and kind to a fault, but she wished he would lean on her when he needed to more often.

The Holo Caster vibrated as another message came in, this time from Dexio:  **He's never been this bad before, we don't know what to do. Every time we try to bring it up he changes the subject or ignores it.**

A pale green hand brushed Diantha's sleeve, and she looked up to find that Titania had moved her chair closer while she was chatting with the two assistants. The gardevoir had sensed Diantha's worry through their link and was trying to soothe her.

Diantha gave Titania's hand a gentle squeeze, then paused a moment to think of her reply.  **I'll make sure he knows I'm there for him when he's ready.**

* * *

The cold water shocked a bit more wakefulness into Augustine as he brought it up to his cheeks. A pale, thin face framed by lank black hair blinked back at him as he looked up at the mirror, and his forehead almost bumped the glass as he let his head tip forward with a sigh. It was so obvious that he wasn't taking what had happened well at all, there was no use hiding it. He still wasn't ready to own up to his failure, not yet. Just avoid it a little longer, maybe it would lose its bite by then...

Augustine lifted his head and checked for any blades of grass he may have missed. There were none left, but his hair was still a mess despite his dragging his fingers through it a few times. Still, it was an improvement at least. Now he would be able to face Diantha without looking like a slob, maybe even succeed in convincing her that he was doing alright after what happened.

Their food arrived soon after Augustine returned to the table. Starla and Charlemagne were given two shorter, sturdier tables on which to enjoy their meals while Titania took hers at the main table. As Diantha had said earlier, this restaurant's crepes were superb and the fruits they were laden with sweet and fresh. The Champion was even able to get a few genuine smiles out of him over the course of their breakfast conversations, something Augustine had not believed possible after recent events.

Of course in the end it wasn't enough to relieve him of his grief—only time could do that—but at the very least it gave him confidence that he would be able to face Serena without betraying his true feelings to her. "Thank you for breakfast, Diantha. We really appreciate it," Augustine gave Diantha the best smile he could manage as the guilt and grief began to creep back in.

"Augustine..." Diantha gently took Augustine's hands in her own as she spoke. "I know you don't like to think you're troubling your friends, but if you ever need to talk please feel free to call upon me. I don't care what time it might be or where you are, I will be there for you."

For a few breathless moments Augustine didn't know what to say in reply. It was true, he didn't want to be a bother to anyone, it was why he would have preferred to keep hiding the state he was in from Diantha, but to have her so plainly show her support was unexpected. Diantha had gotten straight to the point without any of her usual delicacy, which meant she was truly worried about him.

"Oh..." Augustine's mouth opened slightly as he tried to find the words. He felt grateful, and relieved to know that she would be there for him, but he wanted to try to get through this himself before calling on her. "Thank you, Diantha," he gave her hands a gentle squeeze, and she released him. "I'd better get going, Sina and Dexio got pretty worried last night so I need to get back to the lab."

"Take care, Augustine," Diantha gave him a polite wave and she turned to walk up the avenue back toward the Pokemon League.

Augustine waved back, then turned to leave with Starla and Charlemagne. It was only once he had clambered onto Charlemagne's back that his exhaustion-addled brain realized what his little meeting with Diantha must have looked like. He groaned and buried his face in the base of Charlemagne's neck, causing the charizard to look around at him in surprise. Hopefully there weren't any gossips around to spread word of what happened, he hated to think that he'd provided more grist for the wretched rumor mill.

Once Augustine's face was no longer red from the blush, he looked up with a sigh and adjusted his hold on Charlemagne's neck. "Let's get back to Lumiose."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to Viper of Grand for editing this, as always.


	7. No Context

Three days had passed since Cobalt and the others were brought out of the forest. In that time they had been allowed to see Anatole only once, on the second day between treatments. He was still pale, and his mane of red hair and his beard had been cut short, but he looked much better than he had in the forest. Less ragged, and with less shadow under his visible eye—the other was obscured by the neat length of bandage that covered the gash on the left side of his face.

Seeing an improvement in his condition helped to give them hope that he would recover, but he still had yet to wake up. The group was in the visiting center when Hildred found them on the morning of the third day.

" _The doctors are going to wake your human today,"_  the lucario said once she had their attention.

Cobalt perked up immediately, as did Poise, Mourvedre, and Regulus. " _[How does he look?]"_  the gyarados asked, leaning down to get a better look at Hildred.

" _He looks well, considering the condition he was in when he got here,"_  Hildred replied, with a hint of pride in her mind-voice. " _You have our doctors to thank for that."_

" _[Do we get to see him now?]"_  Poise pressed his forearms together, trying to contain his excitement over finally seeing Anatole awake again.

" _Yes, that's why I came to get you."_

The group easily kept pace with Hildred as she led them across the green, a few even jogging circles around the lucario in their eagerness. Hildred herself watched in plain amusement, perhaps—Cobalt hoped—happy for the occasion as well. He still didn't know whether it was wise to trust the lucario, though she seemed candid enough in wanting to help them.

Three humans in long white coats were waiting for them when they arrived. And there in the bed was  _their_  human, Anatole Lysandre.

Cobalt watched through an open window as Regulus, Poise, and Mourvedre surrounded the bed. Anatole was still asleep, but looking even better than he had the last time they saw him; the unhealthy paleness was almost entirely gone, and the shadow under his visible eye was now barely noticeable.

" _He should already be starting to wake up now."_

Poise and Regulus jumped at the sound of Hildred's voice in their heads—they'd been focused so intently on Anatole that they'd almost forgotten she was still with them. Cobalt leaned forward as the two resettled themselves, almost holding his breath as he watched.

The first sign of movement was the slight tick of an eyebrow, followed by a change in Anatole's breathing. Finally his visible eye opened, revealing its familiar crystal blue color.

Poise jumped forward first, nudging Anatole's right hand with his nose as the others drew closer.

For a few moments Anatole's gaze rested on the wall in front of him, then slid slowly down until it came to rest on Poise's face.

They hadn't been sure what to expect when Anatole woke up. As Hildred had said there was no guarantee of him being the same when he awoke, but they'd still had reason to hope. A hope that there would at least be some indication that he recognized them.

There was barely any reaction at all. No smile, no look of relief. Anatole's expression remained blank as he stared down at Poise, as if he were looking at a Pokemon he'd never met before.

Cobalt's heart sank upon seeing this, but Poise remained hopeful and nudged Anatole's hand with the tip of his nose again.

Anatole drew his hand away at the touch of Poise's nose, his movements sluggish but with a degree of care to them. The hand hovered above the covers for a moment before settling on Poise's head. A smile came to Anatole's face as he ruffled the fur on the top of Poise's head, and while it was genuine in its happiness, it had none of the familiarity given to those he knew well.

Poise began to tear up as his head dropped to the covers, and he rocked back to land on his rump with a quiet thud.

Regulus watched as Hildred moved forward and put a paw on Poise's shoulder.

" _The doctors want some time with him. There's a place in the hall with a window where you can talk,"_  she said, offering a paw to him.

Poise placed his paw in hers and allowed Hildred to pull him up. Cobalt withdrew from the window, and Regulus and Mourvedre stayed close to Poise as she led them out of the room.

The place Hildred had spoken of was one they'd passed on their way in, only a few dozen paces from Anatole's room. Hildred broke away from the little group and opened the nearest window, allowing Cobalt to join them.

" _I'm sorry I brought you,"_  Hildred admitted as she turned back to the group. " _I expected him to fare better from what the doctors told me."_

" _[There's no need for you to apologize,]"_ Mourvedre said from his perch on the arm of the bench. " _[It's our fault for allowing him to come to harm.]"_

" _What is it that signalled he wasn't himself? He seemed happy enough when he saw you."_

Mourvedre glanced at Poise, who gave him a glum nod of permission. " _[Poise's previous human would strike his head if he didn't perform as they wanted. Our human realized this soon after Poise joined us, and to show affection would scratch along Poise's jaw line instead,]"_  he said, running a wingtip along the underside of his beak to demonstrate.

" _[There's also the way he smiled at Poise,]"_  Regulus added. " _[It's the same as one he would give to a stranger.]"_

Hildred sighed and rested against the wall beside the window for a moment, then pushed herself back to her feet and addressed the group. " _They're going to want my help in there. I'll be back once I'm finished."_

They waited for Hildred to disappear into the room before turning to each other again.

" _[What will we do now?]"_  Poise plunked himself down beside the bench as he asked the question, ears and whiskers drooping with his mood.

" _[I'm not leaving,]"_  Cobalt stated, before silence had a chance to settle in.

" _[Leaving was never an option,]"_  Regulus added, a little angry that Cobalt might question their loyalty. " _[But should we keep him here? Should we try to find a way to return his memory?]"_

Mourvedre craned his head to look down the hall, at the door that led to Anatole's room. " _[This place seems as safe as any. Safer than Kalos if—]"_  he stopped at the sound of footsteps coming toward them and looked to the other end of the hall.

The man who approached them now was almost as tall as Anatole, his height accentuated by the straightness of his posture and the set of his shoulders. His skin was deep brown, his head crowned by black hair that had been cut close and neat, and while the dark grey suit he wore would not be considered to be the height of fashion in Kalos, its clean lines and perfect condition did well to help convey the authority of the man who wore it. Sharp golden-brown eyes assessed each member of the group in turn as the newcomer drew near, and they did their best to act as normally as they could while he watched them.

An aegislash followed close on his heels, hovering just above the floor with its sash-like arms folded behind itself and shield held before it as was typical of the species. It was only once it had moved past that the group noticed the notches on its blade—there were at least five, which meant that this aegislash had seen a great deal of battle at some point in its lifetime.

"Artuur," the man turned to his aegislash companion once he reached the door. "Stay here, please."

The aegislash tilted forward slightly in a nod, then took up a post by the door as its companion went inside.

Regulus paced a bit, then settled himself next to Poise. The aegislash was staring at them from its post by the door, its one-eyed gaze steady and unblinking as it watched them. It was unnerving, as if the aegislash knew something was odd about the little group. They would have to save the talking for later, once it was out of earshot.

Minutes dragged by in unsettled boredom as the group waited, either pacing uneasily or lounging by the windows or benches. Finally the door opened again and the visitor left, his aegislash companion leaving its vigil at the door to follow him down the hall and out of sight. Hildred emerged from the room soon after, closing the door with a quiet click before walking over to them.

" _[Who was that?]"_  Poise asked, pulling himself to his feet.

" _The Dean,"_  Hildred replied. " _He wanted to make sure our guest was doing alright."_

Regulus stared at Hildred from the corner of his eye as he stood. Something told him that the man was likely doing more than just checking in, but it was impossible to tell if Hildred was being completely honest or not. With no actual voice to judge there were only physical cues left, and Hildred's posture gave nothing away.

" _[Well?]"_  Cobalt asked, leaning farther through the window. " _[Is he?]"_

" _Other than the loss of memory, he should be able to live normally. He's weak now from being asleep for so long, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him being allowed to walk around campus a few days from now, maybe even tomorrow if he fares well,"_  Hildred replied.

Cobalt let out a sigh of relief that sent a small breeze through the hall. " _[That's good to hear.]"_

" _[We wouldn't have left even if that weren't the case,]"_  Regulus added, still feeling a little cross with Cobalt for questioning their love and loyalty earlier, accidentally or not.

" _There's still the issue of the name,"_ Hildred cut in. " _You should reconsider your decision to keep it secret. It's highly suspicious that you're keeping it from us, especially considering the information you've already given to me."_

" _[He can't use that name anymore regardless,]"_ Mourvedre resettled his wings and hopped onto the bench cushion. " _[It's too dangerous.]"_

" _If the other humans find out before you tell us, it will reflect badly on all of you for not being honest in the first place,"_  Hildred crossed her arms over her chest as she spoke, obviously annoyed by their secrecy. " _And they're probably going to find out, sooner rather than later."_

Regulus thrashed his tail back and forth as he thought about it. Hildred was right, but he still felt reluctant. They'd done so much to save Anatole already, it was hard to think that even now they could lose him. The alternative to staying here wasn't much better. Even if they were able to escape with him, the life Anatole would lead afterward would be one without long contact with humans, and all while traveling with a group of Pokemon that he didn't even know anymore. His happiness seemed a fragile thing either way.

" _[What will you do with the name if we tell you?]"_  Mourvedre hopped to the floor this time, sharp red eyes staring up at Hildred as he spoke.

" _[Mour, what are you doing?!]"_  Poise started forward, but stopped short when Mourvedre held up a wing.

" _[Let her answer,]"_  the honchkrow said, eyes still fixed on Hildred's face.

" _I will have to tell the Dean, at the very least,"_  Hildred replied.

" _[And then? What will the Dean do with this information?]"_

" _It depends on what your human has done."_

" _[So he will be judged based on actions he might not even remember anymore?]"_ Mourvedre hopped forward once, bringing himself a bit closer to Hildred.

" _Are you suggesting that he should not be held responsible for his actions?"_  Hildred leaned forward slightly, her eyes still locked with Mourvedre's. " _Would you suggest the same if this were not_ your  _human?"_

Mourvedre was the first to break eye contact, shielding his eyes with the rim of his hat-feathers as he looked to the floor. " _[Just that it be taken into account,]"_  he replied quietly. " _[And that your humans show mercy when dispensing their judgement.]"_

" _That will be up to the Dean in the end,"_  Hildred straightened, her eyes still on Mourvedre. " _But I will be sure to mention it to him."_

" _[If we can all agree...]"_  Mourvedre looked to each of his comrades in turn, then back up at Hildred again. " _[Then we will tell you.]"_

Silence fell as each descended into their own thoughts on the matter. Regulus gave Mourvedre a small nod when the honchkrow looked at him again. It was a gamble, but hopefully the humans here would be more understanding due to their distance from the event.

" _[Very well,]"_  Cobalt said a few moments later, his eyes downcast.

Poise needed a while longer to make his decision, fidgeting with the long hair on his forearms as he weighed their options. " _[Okay,]"_  he said finally, looking up at Mourvedre.

" _[His name is Anatole Lysandre.]"_

* * *

"Are you sure it's him?" Looker fidgeted with the earpiece and checked the lengthening shadows again. He was still alone with his Pokemon in the little clearing, but that might not be the case for long.

"My best mindspeaker got confirmation from his Pokemon earlier today," Beirne's voice came to him from the earpiece, understandable despite the static that muddled it. "But he can't remember who he was before he ended up here. Our doctors are working with him, but it doesn't look like he'll be recalling anything of use anytime soon. What do you recommend we do with him? Turn him in?"

"No, not just yet," Looker replied. "I want to speak with him myself before we do anything like that."

"When will you be able to make it over?"

"Who knows?" Looker scowled as he scanned the clearing again. "They have me chasing imaginary criminals in Sinnoh when I  _should've_  been in Kalos dealing with Flare weeks ago."

" _Seriously_?" Looker could almost see the exasperated expression on Beirne's face. "You're sure about this, right? They would be that careless?"

"You're making it sound like they made it easy for me to find out it was fake," Looker replied. He glanced up at the sound of a chirp-like bark in the tree just above him, and lifted a hand to steady the eevee that landed neatly on his shoulder. "They had a couple other agents tailing me, too," Looker kept his voice low as he left the clearing, one hand still steadying his companion.

The streetlights were just coming on in Jubilife City when Looker came to a stop at the crest of a hill. He lifted an arm and the eevee ran along it and up into the branches of the nearest tree to continue her vigil. "You still there?" Looker asked as he lowered the arm.

"Still here," Beirne replied. "There's something else that's been bothering me. I tried to research the Flare incident but no two official reports give the same information, and social media has nothing on it either. It's either a minor incident or nonexistent according to them. None of them agree on what happened to Lysandre, either. All that can be concluded from them is that he's currently missing." There was a pause as Beirne thought on what he'd discovered. "Do you think someone at headquarters is behind this?"

"That, or leadership has become completely incompetent," Looker grumbled. "Either way I don't trust him in their hands. Make up a cover story, as solid as possible, and wait for me to get over there. I'll decide on where we go from there once I've assessed the situation in person," he looked up as another thought occurred to him. "Also, compile a report on the conflicting stories if you can, along with what people witnessed of the event from Suritaine and the information you get out of his Pokemon, see if there's a connection of some sort there. I'd like to know who's been meddling, and why."

"You got it," Beirne said. "Be careful out there."

There was a dull click as the transmission was terminated, and Looker removed the earpiece and tucked it away in a hidden pocket of his coat. "Miya," he looked up at the branches just above him as he spoke, and the eevee dropped onto his shoulders again.

Miya rebalanced herself, then settled against his collar, her silence indicating that she had spotted nothing suspicious while at her post.

Looker started down the hill, bound for the road that led into Jubilife City from the west. His head buzzed with thoughts and questions on recent events as he walked, though he managed to keep an eye out for trouble despite the distraction. The dispatch to Sinnoh had been a surprise given that Team Galactic had been stamped out years ago and showed no sign of returning, something Looker had suspected from the beginning and confirmed himself just a few weeks after arriving in the region. Finding that the entire investigation had been a farce was frustrating enough, but still worse was being stuck here while who-knew-what happened in Kalos. Especially with the rumors that Xerosic was involved with Flare.

A branch snapped somewhere nearby. Looker ducked into the nearest bush and listened for further movement, Miya now tense and alert on his shoulder.

Something let out a trilling growl, and a luxio stepped into view a moment later, its eyes focused on the ground as it went about its evening hunt. It looked up as the breeze shifted, then dove back into the shrubs and disappeared.

The pair relaxed. Sounds of the forest's residents going about their business continued at a slight distance, those nearest to them no doubt waiting for the human to leave before picking up where they left off.

Looker continued on, keeping half his attention on his surroundings as he continued his musings. It was suspicious that headquarters would send him off to Sinnoh when there was information pointing to Xerosic being in Kalos, and it was troubling to think that they were either so incompetent or delaying the investigation on purpose. Looker hoped it would end up being the former, but something told him not to get his hopes up. Their priorities were too skewed for this to be the result of a mere screwup.

Finally the road came into view between the trees, and Looker paused at the margin before stepping onto the scruffy grass that grew beside the concrete. He waited as Miya listened for other humans, then started forward when she nudged him with her head. The road was empty as expected, with most of its traffic having already hurried home for the night.

Looker shoved his hands into his coat pockets and started walking along the road toward Jubilife City. It was frustrating, but there was little he would be able to do about the situation in Kalos while he was stuck in Sinnoh like this. Beirne could be trusted to do his best, at least, and Looker had faith in the man's abilities; this wasn't the first time he would have to rely on Beirne's skill and judgement, and it wouldn't be the last. All he could do now was complete this ludicrous mission to the best of his ability and hope they sent him to Kalos as soon as possible.

* * *

Cobalt's head was spinning by the time Hildred finished her instructions. Not only was the Dean allowing them to stay, he was also giving them a cover story for how they came to be at the university. With that story came a place for them to stay, new Poke Balls for the lot of them, and a new identity for Anatole. It was still a bit of a shock that Mourvedre's gamble paid off to such a degree, but here they were.

From now on they would be referring to Anatole by his new name: Leone McClery. Any talk of Kalos or ever living there was off-limits, obviously, but not just because of Anatole's true past; part of the story was that Leone had once lived there and was now in Suritaine to hide from criminals he had helped to put behind bars. It was a clever little detail that would explain Leone's accent and mannerisms, both of which would start to fade after a few months spent living in Suritaine.

" _I'm going to give the Dean the rest of the information you gave to me, and he should be finished explaining things to your human soon,"_  Hildred said. Part of the arrangement required that the group tell Hildred everything they could remember about the Flare incident, and they had done it. After all, the information seemed cheap when compared to what they would get in return.

Regulus perked up immediately, but there was a degree of tension to his posture as he stood. " _[Did An—]"_  he bit down on the rest of the name, reminding himself that it could not be said aloud again. " _[Leone seem out of sorts at all?]"_ Regulus finished.

" _In what way?"_  Hildred raised her eyebrows as she looked down at Regulus. " _If you are referring to the negative mix he had during the incident and when he got here, it appears to have vanished completely. I would have noticed had it remained, especially when considering the nature of this region."_

" _[Nature?]"_  Cobalt asked, genuinely confused. Though in retrospect, it shouldn't have been surprising that this region with its insane fairies and dangerous wilds would have even more secrets to reveal.

" _It will take a while to explain in full,"_  Hildred admitted. " _Which reminds me, both you and your human need to go through orientation before you can live unsupervised. Anyway, once I've finished with that, I'll be able to take one of you to visit Leone for a while."_

" _[Just one?]"_  Regulus asked. It seemed odd to him, given that all of them were allowed in the room when Anatole woke up.

" _University rules allow only one mid to small-sized Pokemon in a human's room for any extended period of time,"_ Hildred replied. " _Only those who prove themselves to be responsible employees or students are given permission to have more than that."_

" _[So we will have to select who goes first,]"_  Cobalt said, calm despite the fact that he could not be considered as one of Anatole's room companions.

" _[I think I'm too nervous to go by myself]"_  Poise mumbled, eyes on the grass as he fiddled with the long hair of his forelimbs.

" _[Perfectly understandable, Poise,]"_ Mourvedre rested a reassuring wing on Poise's shoulders. " _[So it's between myself and Regulus,]"_ he looked up at the pyroar, who now stood across from him on the grass. The honchkrow looked from Regulus to Poise, who had taken a seat beside him, and shook his head. " _[I'll stay with Poise.]"_

" _[Are you sure?]"_  Regulus asked, surprised by Mourvedre's decision.

" _[Our human is in good hands, and can have only one of us by his side,]"_  Mourvedre replied with a nod. " _[And Poise needs my companionship more than Leone does at the moment.]"_

" _[Alright,]"_  Regulus said. He then turned and looked up at Hildred, who gave the rest of the group a polite nod of farewell before leading Regulus away.

They walked in silence across the green, this time taking a right along the paved path and going past the hospital building. They entered, and remained on the first floor as they passed through a few corridors on the way to Anatole's room.

Anatole—now Leone, Regulus reminded himself—was awake and seated on the bed when they entered. His left eye was still covered by the bandage, and someone had given him a new set of clothes to wear: a grey-blue longsleeved shirt, grey jeans, and a simple pair of brown loafers. The jeans were actually too short for Leone, especially when he was seated like this, making the white socks he wore easily visible. He looked up at the sound of the door when Hildred closed it behind them, his expression a mixture of worry and mild confusion.

" _Are you feeling alright?"_ Hildred crossed the floor between herself and Leone in a matter of moments and stood beside him, one paw on his shoulder.

"It's just a lot to take in," Leone replied, lifting a hand to the bandage on his head. "Don't really know what to think right now."

Hildred pulled his hand away from the bandage. " _Try not to touch it,"_  she reminded him.

"Yeah, sorry," Leone lowered the hand, looking embarrassed for forgetting what the doctors told him earlier.

" _And this is Regulus,"_ Hildred turned and gestured to Regulus with one paw as she spoke. " _He is one of your companions."_

It had been a relief to Regulus that he would be keeping his real name, at least in use. Hildred had explained that registering them in the Storage System under different names was a must, but Leone would be told their real names and would be able to use them. For some it might seem a silly thing, but for Regulus and the others being able to hear their names spoken by the man who made up so much of their lives possessed value that could not be put into words.

Regulus walked forward slowly, one paw in front of the other, until he stood directly in front of Leone. This close he could smell the full breadth of scents that hung about his human, or rather, the sharp absence of those he had so long come to associate with Anatole: a hint of fine cologne, enough to be noticeable but short of overpowering his Pokemons' sensitive noses; cotton and silk from the clothes of finest make; paper, metal, and plastic from time spent tinkering and building his devices... The events of the past week began to catch up to him all at once, from the Ultimate Weapon's activation to the very room he stood in now. They'd been through a great deal in such a short length of time, and the result of all that hardship sat before him now, hesitant and unsure of what to do next.

Leone offered his right hand, relaxed and with the fingers slightly curled.

It was all the invitation Regulus needed. He brought his head up under Leone's hand so that the palm rested on his forehead while the fingers brushed his mane; the fire within had already been banked, leaving the mane cool enough for a human to touch safely. The new name didn't matter, this human would always be Anatole to Regulus. The man he'd known and loved since he was a cub, the man who had shown him nothing but love, respect, and kindness throughout his whole life was alive and slowly combing his fingers through Regulus's mane.

Whether or not Anatole's memory would return was anyone's guess. It was even possible that it would never return at all. However, Regulus was ready to get to know Anatole all over again if that was what it took. For now, it seemed that everything they'd done had been worth it.

* * *

Augustine took a deep breath of evening air as he walked back to the Pokemon Center, his heart still beating painfully hard against his ribcage after his chat with Serena. He'd been hoping that the talk would help ease the pain on top of starting to make things right by her, but in the end he felt the grief, guilt, and shame over what happened just the same as before. Apologizing for Lysandre and Team Flare, for allowing things to get out of hand the way they did, thanking Serena for resolving the situation, none of it helped to lessen the pain he felt. Perhaps it was only what he deserved, for being too afraid to talk to Lysandre about it, and for being so useless while a child stepped in and cleaned up the mess.

The Pokemon Center doors opened with an automated whine as Augustine neared them, and he stepped into the light and warmth inside. It immediately struck him as stuffy even before the doors closed behind him. He walked toward the counter, still lost in thought as he retrieved his team's Poke Balls. The event had been a harrowing ordeal for Serena and her friends, and though they made it through physically unscathed he still worried that there would be lasting damage that wasn't so easily seen. Augustine placed the trio of Poke Balls on the counter, his gaze settled and unfocused on the equipment just to the right of the nurse.

Could they still sleep at night? Did they feel safe anymore? With the horrors they'd described to him afterward it was possible that they would be unable to forget what they saw for many years to come. The thought alone was enough to tie his stomach in a tense, painful knot. Those children were Kalos's future, he should've been protecting them from such horrible things rather than relying on others to put a stop to Team Flare.

"Here you are, Professor."

Augustine jumped when one of the Poke Balls bumped his hand, and he looked up to find that the nurse was ready to return his Pokemon. "Thank you," he mumbled, accepting the Poke Balls from her. Augustine tucked the Poke Balls containing his venusaur and blastoise away, keeping Charlemagne's in his hand as he hurried out of the Pokemon Center.

Open air was a relief after how stuffy it felt indoors. Augustine paused to let himself cool down, then started north past the Pokemon Center. He wanted to be away from prying eyes, just in case. His meeting with Diantha had already caused a bit of a stir, and he shuddered just at imagining the reaction if he was spotted having a breakdown in public. It would just make everything so much worse.

_I should've been the responsible one._

The restrained frown began to deepen as Augustine neared the edge of Couriway Town. He stopped at the margin to release Charlemagne from his Poke Ball, then continued on, his charizard following close behind him. Augustine's anxiety eased a little once they were out of sight of the town, but the guilt and grief continued to gnaw at him. And he was still so  _tired_. He was lucky that Serena had come no closer during the conversation, and that the fading light had helped hide what poor shape he was in. Sleep was just difficult to find and keep these days.

Augustine's steps began to slow as the ground beneath his feet became more uneven from tree roots and stones. The talk he'd had with Serena was floating back to him again, and one part in particular stood out:  _I never had this discussion with Lysandre._  Why? He should have. He'd known what needed to be said to Lysandre, he'd just said the same to Serena. He failed Serena due to his inaction, a fact that he was constantly reminded of when he so much as thought of her, and yet it was so much easier to talk to her about it than to Lysandre.

And he knew why. It was fear. Augustine had long known what needed to be said, but fear that he would fail in the execution, that he would end up driving Lysandre farther away by accident, had kept him silent. And deep down, though he never wanted to admit it, he'd been afraid of what Lysandre might do to him if he saw Augustine as a threat. He should've been able to push past it, there was no excuse for his silence. Lysandre could have lived to see past his own flawed thinking, if only Augustine had spoken up when there was still time left.

"Why didn't..." Augustine slowed to a halt as he spoke, the warmth of Charlemagne's body at his back. It was all starting to crumble down on him at once. Lysandre's fall and subsequent death, his students' involvement, it was all because he failed to act when he should have. "Why didn't I just," his knees buckled, thin legs folding beneath him as he fell to a seated position in the dirt and loam of the forest floor. A few shallow roots bit into his shins as he landed, but it was nothing compared to the despair he felt now.

Grief and despair began to constrict his throat, but he managed to get ahold of himself before the tears could start. He didn't have time to dwell on his failure, not when he had so much work to do, preparations to make. If he could put this off for just a bit longer...

A warm body pressed against Augustine's side as small bony arms and a long tail wrapped around him, encircling him in the gentle heat of their owner. Charlemagne let out a deep rolling coo as Augustine looked up at him. It was a sound Augustine had heard before, one that meant reassurance—Charlemagne was trying to tell him that everything would be alright.

For some reason the charizard's assertion only made the grief worse. Charlemagne just didn't understand. There was no way this would ever be  _alright_ , not after what he'd failed to do, and not after what happened as a result.

"It's not gonna be okay, Charl," Augustine mumbled past the pain in his throat, which was at least starting to ease up by now. "Take us home, please."

Charlemagne released him, but remained close as Augustine stumbled to his feet, at one point offering an arm for the professor to cling to as he rose.

"Thanks," Augustine said as he straightened. He then retrieved the plain white handkerchief he kept in his breast pocket and dabbed at the corners of his eyes-a few small tears had managed to make it through, despite his best efforts to keep them at bay. A memory drifted to the surface as Augustine folded the simple piece of cloth again, of why he started carrying these with him.

 _They're just useful to have on hand._  That was what Lysandre had said to Augustine years ago, while using his own dampened deep red handkerchief to clean the dirt and crusted blood off of a battered mienfoo. It struck him a few times while he went about his task, understandable given what its abusive trainer had put it through, but undoubtedly painful given how physically powerful mienfoo were. And yet Lysandre barely reacted to the blows at all, merely picking up on his task where he left off when the Pokemon allowed him to touch it again.  _It's for his dignity,_  Lysandre told him, when Augustine cautioned him to stop before he got seriously hurt.  _If he finds new companions in the Pokemon Village, they don't need to know until he's ready to tell them._  Augustine was sure that Lysandre's chest and arms were covered with bruises by the end, but of that Lysandre gave no indication. He simply smiled, tucked the dirtied handkerchief away in its pocket, and told the mienfoo that it was free to choose where it would go from here.

In the end the mienfoo had chosen to stay with Lysandre and was given Poise as his new name. And Poise remained with Lysandre until the very end, and was in all likelihood buried with his beloved trainer when Team Flare's secret base collapsed.

Just where had the man he once knew gone? Augustine's fingers closed over the piece of cloth as he tried to push the memory away. It shouldn't have ended the way it did, with Lysandre unable to redeem himself, unable to even regret his actions. It just didn't seem fair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, a big thank you to ViperofGrand for editing!
> 
> Also you'll probably have noticed the big difference in time between Looker's segment and the others. This is intentional because Sinnoh is in a different time zone from Kalos/Suritaine.


End file.
